All in Time
by AndroidScout21
Summary: Life can be so beautifully cruel. One minute I am counting the night stars and the next minute I am dead. For many decades, I lived as a shadow to my family as I watched them grow. But when someone else I love disappears, I will go to every length imaginable to save him.
1. Chapter 1

**_September 20th, 1951_**

 ** _Forks, Washington_**

 _The smell of burning pine wood awoke me in the early morning hours. Stretching out of my bed, I could see an alarming amber color shining through my window. Surely I had not risen as the sun was coming up? Moving softly so that I did not wake my sleeping sister Alessandra, I made my way to the window. A small gasp escaped me as I saw the darkened sky and what looked like black snow drifting down. The river and forest, which I could usually see from this distance, was a flame on the other side._

 _Panicking, I rushed back to the bed and struggled to awake Alessandra. I was pulling on her floral nightgown rather harshly. She jerked awake and with a malice glint in her eye. "What in heaven's name do you want Isabella?" She demanded she stretched her hand to her brush rollers were still in place. I light the candle by the bed and walk over the wardrobe. In the dim light, I pull out two-day dress and heels for us. If we are going to flee, we need to be at least wearing something other than our nightgowns. I place the dark blue and pink floral day dress aside for myself and put the light green with roses day dress in the nook of my arm for Alessandra._

" _Alessandra, get dressed quickly," I say calmly as I am grabbing the large suitcase from the back of the wardrobe._

 _"Why?" Alessandra asked but I before I could ask, Mother, burst thru the door. Her normally composed face held a wild look and her dark brown hair, usually curled into victory rolls, was a mess with a few rollers bobbing around the thickness of her hair. She was still in her flannel nightgown as well._

" _Mother," I greeted with a nod of my head. "Please hurry and get dressed. Alessa and I will rush as quickly as possible." Mother blinked at my calmness but thanked me before rushing back to her room. Looking at Alessandra, I noticed her confusion and I walked back to the bed. I handed her the dress. "Get dressed. We don't have much time."_

" _Bella, what is the matter?" Alessa's voice held a note of panic. She quickly climbed out of bed and started dressing._

" _The forest and river are on fire."_

" _What?" Alessandra rushes over to the window and peers out. "Oh good lord." I looked toward Alessandra and noticed the dress was half on, but the top of her corselette was exposed._

" _Alessandra, please hurry and get dressed." I push her away from the window and back towards the bed. Although I am younger than her by two years, I am more collected and calm. I continue dressing as ignore Alessa's ramblings about what we should do._

 _Grabbing a pair of dark blue spectator pumps from the closet, I slip them on before passing Alessandra a light green pair of Donna heels mother had picked out for her a year ago. I grabbed the suitcase I had placed outside the wardrobe and started packing clothes and jewelry. I could hear my parents downstairs frantically discussing where we should flee._

 _I let out a long sigh before turning around to Alessandra who had, by the grace of God, finally dressed I started helping her take the rollers out of her hair. As I did, I had to make soothing sounds as she was hysterical. After calming her down, I grabbed the suitcase, and we made our way downstairs._

 _Father looked at us briefly before grabbing the keys to the Lincoln Continental he had bought just a few years ago. I placed the suitcase with me and Alessandra's things on top of Mother's in the trunk. Climbing in the back seat, Alessandra grabbed my hand and squeezed it sharply. I give her an understanding glimpse before looking out my window. I took one last look at our blue and white stick-style home. Grandpapa had built the home before passing it down to Father at his untimely death._

 _Father started the car and Mother waved goodbye to our home before climbing in with tears streaming down her face. Driving through town, I could see the families panicking and hurrying to flee as well. Marguerite Davenport and her family stood in shock as they stared out at the river. I understand their shock, but they should start packing. As we passed by the food mart, a man started waving frantically and signaled for Father to stop._

 _Father pulled into the parking lot and stepped out to speak with the man. Looking outside my window, I could see a large group of people had gathered. Some were carrying large bags while others scattered around an impressively sized fire truck. One man, in particular, was handing people strange looking blankets. I was so intrigued by the carrying on of these men that my father opening the door startled me._

" _Elenore," My dad said softly, and my mother looked at him with large doe eyes, "Take the girls and head to Port Angeles. I need to stay here and protect the town." My mother let out an undignified gasp of shock, and he smiled to her. "All will be well darling." Father leaned in further to kiss her cheek. "I love you." I heard him whisper before walking away._

 _Mother sat in her seat, grief-stricken and stared at Father with a long look. "Mother?" I say pressingly._

 _With a cough, she composes herself before sliding into the driver seat. "Come on darlings." Mother shifts the car into gear, and we slowly make our way out of town._

 _The drive was long and tedious. Alessandra begged me to sing her sweet songs for comfort, but I could not think of any. Instead, we all rode in silence as we drove through the ashes of the forests to Port Angeles._

 _I remembered a few weeks ago, the fires plagued all of the Olympic Peninsula, but there had been now news of fires spreading toward us. Why now? What had happened? As we grew closer to Port Angeles, we could see the burnt scarring along the road of what had been beautiful and overgrown green forests. Mother, now and then, would make a small whimper and Alessandra began to grip my hand harshly._

 _We arrived in Port Angeles right before noon. Mother stopped the car at the Angeles Dinner and turned around in her seat to face us. "How about we take a moment to eat some lunch?"_

" _That sounds nice." I send her a reassuring smile before stepping out._

 _The dinner is larger than the one in Forks, and we head straight for a sizeable booth. A waitress with long curling brown hair saunters over and greets us with a warm smile. "Hello, my name is Liz. Here are some menus." She hands us two paper menus. "If you have any questions, just flag me down. I'll be right back to take your order okay?" Her accent is a little strange and slow. I think she may be from the south eastern coast._

" _Thank you, Liz," Mother says softly, and the waitress nods before taking off._

" _Mother, I am going to wash up for a moment. If she comes back, can I please have water with a small burger and fries. Extra tomatoes and pickles?" I ask, and Mother nods in agreement._

 _Walking into the women's restroom, I look into the mirror and look at myself. My hair is still in a french braid from last night, and a black smudge was across my check. Probably some of the snow that was falling, I mused to myself. Mother needs my strength. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths before taking the towelette and wetting it. I clean my face thoroughly with soap and water before unraveling my hair. The dark brown hair is waving down my back now, and with the help of some water, I look less of a mess._

 _As I open the door and walk out, I accidentally bump into someone and fall to the ground. Fantastic Isabella, I think to myself as I stare up at the poor sod I have bumped into. I am utterly speechless. The boy has caramel colored hair that waves slightly to the right, a healthy jaw bone, and beautiful forest green eyes._

" _Pardon me, Ma'am." His voice even sounds like hot caramel dripping from a spoon. "Let me help you up." He extends his hand for me, and I take it with a slight blush. "Are you alright?" I notice he has an accent as well which is soft but overemphasizes every word._

" _Thank you, but I should be the one apologizing to you. I am sorry I was not watching where I was going." I say as I tuck a stray hair behind my ear._

" _You are quite alright ma'am. You are not sore or anything?" He smiles at me, and I can feel the heat of my cheeks as my blush deepens._

" _No, not at all. Thank you, sir." I say before turning around intent on returning to the booth._

" _You can call me Stefan." I hear him say, and I turn to smile at him, but when I do, he has disappeared._

 _Shrugging, I return to the booth and Alessandra gives me the strangest look. I laugh lightly to her for I am sure she will ask me many questions tonight before we go to sleep._

" _The locals are saying Forks is gone." Mother's voice startles me, and I turn to her._

" _Well, how would they know so suddenly? Honestly, I am positive all will be quite alright Mother." I say confidently, and she gives me a small smile._

 _After we finish eating, Mother checks us into the local motel, and we wait. Waiting is what we do all day, whether it is news from Forks or news of Father. By nightfall, Mother and Alessandra have both fallen asleep on the one large bed in Mother's private suite. I tuck them in and grab the key to my room, although Alessandra was supposed to share with me, and shut Mother's door. The room is locked securely, and I let out a sigh of relief. The walk to my room will not be long, but I take my time enjoying the fresh air._

 _Looking up at the night sky, I count the stars and make a small wish that Father is safe. Shaking my head, I look back towards the motel doors and search for my number. I stop when I notice a dark figure standing by the stairwell. In the light of the moon and stars, I can make out a smile and bright blue eyes before a black abyss grips me._

 _I do not remember how long I am unconscious for but when I awaken I am greeted by the same forest green eyes from the diner. Instead of curiosity in them, I find them filled with horror. Stefan continues to mutter apologetic muffled phrases as he clutches me close to his chest. Confused, I pat his back softly._

" _Stefan," I whisper because my throat feels raw, "Why are you apologizing?"_

 _Stefan leans away from me, and I can see the tears roll down his face. "Because of my curiosity in you, death found its way to your doorstep."_

" _What do you mean by that?" I ask even more confused than before._

" _Ma'am, please understand that I didn't wish this upon you." Stefan looked at me, and finally, I saw the dark bruise along his jawline and the swelling on his lip._

" _Stefan?" I ask as I take hold of his face and scrutinize the damage._

" _Isabella, I am sorry that I couldn't protect you." His voice is gruff, and I watch as the tears start to drip again._

" _What do you mean by that?" I ask again._

" _Isabella, you are dead." His forest green eyes penetrate me with a long sullen stare._

I died that day at the hand of Stefan's older brother Damon Salvatore. I remember being shocked and crying before making the transition to a vampire with the help of Lexi. Lexi and Stefan became my closest friends although we could never figure out where vampire blood came into contact blood with me before I died. Stefan thought Damon must have fed me the blood before breaking my neck. There are times that I wish I could remember that night but a part of me is glad that I don't remember.

Instead of obsessing over my murder, I decided to watch over my family. My father and town survived the great fire. My sister Alessandra had a child out of wedlock named Antonia Giovanni Swan whose son Charles I now watched over and lived with. Charles (Charlie to his friends) Swan now lived in Forks as the Chief of Police. I realized early on Charles knew about the supernatural when I overheard his conversation with one of the local tribe members. The shapeshifter was trying to convince Charlie that they protected the peace of the land as wolves. When the young boy shifted out of anger during Charlie's tirade against the supernatural, I came to his defense. I still remember his face as he recognized me from the old family albums.

For the past year, I have lived with him, pretending to be his sweet 17-year-old daughter. All in the guise of catching the rogue vampires that plagued the forested area. Instead, I found myself bitten and heartbroken on the forest floor by cold ones.

What a mess.

Sighing, I moved from the bed and grabbed my cellphone. I dialed Stefan's number for the uptenth time; yet again it went straight to voicemail. For 3 weeks straight, Stefan has not answered the phone. Frustrated, I threw myself on the bed and stared u at the ceiling.

Edward and the rest of his family were gone.

Lexi had died.

Stefan was all I had besides Charlie.

I won't lose the people I love again. Determination raged through me and I shifted through my room at rapid speed. Within 30 seconds, all my bags were packed and I had ordered my plane ticket on the mobile app. I left Charlie a note along with a picture of me and him hunting from this past season for his photo album.

Mystic Falls is the last place Stefan was supposed to be so that is where I am going.


	2. Chapter 2

**Mystic Falls, Va**

I stepped out of the black and white 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS that I had picked up outside of Richmond and immediately regretted it. Small towns, like this one and Forks, means any newcomer is immediately an attraction. At least I was dressed comfortably as I received interesting sideway glances from the locals passing by me. I had stopped at a small mall on my way in and picked up some more area appropriate clothes. Washington was cold which guaranteed I was going to be covered up regularly but being in the south meant I could let loose a bit. Currently, I am sporting a gray quarter sleeve blazer with a white v-neck underneath, skinny red jeans and a comfortable pair of nude heels. Of course, I also have my Lapis Lazuli studs in that my good witch friend Mary Morris made for me. I found her in the 1970's and thanks to her; I was able to protect my family and hers from afar and more closely as time grew on. She made me a pair of studs, a necklace, a toe ring, two anklets once, and three bracelets. She enjoyed making jewelry, and I never took her for granted. When she died, it felt like I lost another sister. I grabbed my red handbag from the passenger seat and locked the car along with my thoughts of Mary.

Like Forks, this town only had a few places to eat, and I decided to stop in at the Mystic Grill. What a unique name. As I enter, I notice the place isn't bustling, but a young man with blonde hair makes his way over to me as if he is rushing around. He was carrying a large tub filled with dirty plates and silverware.

"Hi, I'm Matt. Please take a seat anywhere, and I'll be right over with a menu and some water." He sends me a thousand watt smile, and I thank him before walking over to a small table in the front and sitting.

As I wait, I notice two teenagers walk through, a young blonde female and a dark haired male. The pair is a bit loud, but they walk to the back where the pool tables are situated. The laughter and giggling from the blonde causes my waiter to look over to them and scowl as he is walking over. Masking his disgust, he quickly smiled and handed me the menu. "The steak sandwich is delicious here. We have a new soup and salad combination today as well. The soup is the corn chowder, and the salad is an arugula salad with almond raspberry vinaigrette."

"While that does sound exciting, I am a meat and potatoes kind of gal," I say laughing. "Can I just have a steak sandwich with some fries?"

"Yes Ma'am." Matt laughed as he took my menu back and scribbled the order on a small pad of paper. "What can I get you to drink?"

"An iced unsweetened tea please." I smile and watch as he cringes slightly.

"Just as I was starting to like you too!" He jokes and I laugh softly.

"I am not sorry, darling," I say, and he leaves smiling. I grab the cellphone out of my pocket and try Stefan's number again, but it goes straight to voicemail. Sighing, I hang up and look around the bar.

I can hear the teenagers in the back talking loudly and unfortunately the louder they become, the harder it is not to listen to their conversation. Oh well, at least I'll have a bit of amusement with my lunch.

"Something's up with your mother." The girl says, and I hear her taking a seat.

"Like what?" The boy asks as he pulls his chair out.

I noticed another waiter make his way out from behind the bar and walk up towards the couple. The boy is the same age as the other teens with dark brown hair and chestnut eyes. The boy also had an impressive amount of muscle on him. All three boys did actually. _What were they putting in the water down here?_

"When I was over yesterday, she just kept eyeing me." The girl continued as her companion sat down.

"Hey, guys." The waiter chirped. He must know them or at least go to school with the pair.

"Did Matt make you switch sections." The girl asks, and after a moment of silence, she sighed deeply. "He thinks we're dating."

 _Ah, now I understand my waiter's disgust: Ex-girlfriend and potential boyfriend are not the ones you want to wait on._ I ignore the trio as Matt returns with my tea.

"Thank you," I say as he hands it to me. "Hey, quick question," he turns around at the sound of my voice.

"Yes Ma'am?" Matt gives me a quizzical smile.

"Where is the local motel at?"

I notice that the trio in the back has suddenly become quiet and my waiter narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Well, there's one on 2nd Avenue called the Mystic Motel, and then there is one on Baker Street, but it is a Bed in Breakfast," Matt replies as he scratches his head.

"Thank you, I appreciate it. I want to check in before nightfall. I hear it gets a bit cold at night here." I say wistfully as if I am caught up in memories. After a few decades, I learned to be wary of humans and hide. Luckily, many people still viewed women as weak and fragile, so it became effortless for me to play the Damsel role.

I took a sip of my sweet tea, and the acid burn of vervain was present. _The town knows_. An instant flash of fear hit, but I have trained myself to be indecipherable and resilient. Carefully not to give even the tiniest hint away, I finished the sip before sending a bright and cheerful smile to Matt.

Matt smiles before walking off, and the three people on the other side of the bar start talking again.

"Who is that?" The dark haired male teen says.

"What do I look like, a mind reader?" The waiter says, and I try not to laugh out loud.

"Tyler why does it matter? She is probably just passing through. Jer, you are gonna be at Elena's birthday party tonight, right?" The girl talked faster than an auctioneer.

"Yes, but why does it have to be at the boarding house?" The waiter, Jer, whined.

"Look, Elena is having a tough time coming to grips with everything. I think it will be a good thing to connect her birthday with something that reminds her of Stefan."

 _Stefan._

I tried hard not to be noticeable as I continue to sip my tea naturally but hearing his name sends my anxiety skyrocketing. I miss him. Where is he? What is he doing? Why has he not called me back or answered my phone calls these past few weeks? Where is this boarding house? Is this the house he used to talk about when recalling his great nephews? I need to do some exploration. I relaxed a bit more in my chair and brought out my cell phone. Popping open the yellow pages web page and looking up Salvatore. Sure enough, Zachariah Salvatore had his listed address. Bingo! That is where Stefan would be. I smiled victoriously as my food exited the kitchen.

After a satisfying steak and leaving the heartbroken Matt a large tip, I make my way to the motel and check in. I take a nice relaxing bath to satiate my nerves. I was about to crash a party, hopefully, reunite with my best friend, and possibly have to face the abhorrent Damon Salvatore. Just thinking his name made me want to gag. Sighing, I stepped out of the tub, slipped into my favorite silk robe, and started thumbing through the half full motel closet. I loved the 1990's leather scene, and since I was going to reunite with Stefan, I decided to go vintage. I grabbed my favorite black leather jacket, a dark red spaghetti strap crop top, a black leather skirt that Lexi bought me, and a pair of black stilettos. My hair's already curly, so I just let it hang down my back in soft waves. I put on just a touch of makeup including a smokey eyeshadow with a hint of burgundy and a nude lipstick.

Looking at the clock, it is just past seven. Smiling, I grab my car keys and take my black leather with studs purse. I turned a few heads as I walked outside. Jumping into my car, I revved the engine and smiled brightly at the sweet sound the car made. I turned on the GPS and plugged in the address for the boarding house. The route would be scenic but beautiful.

Passing along the darkly lit forest, I flashed back to my first meeting of Edward Cullen. Witches have been trying to duplicate the vampire species for generations, but one sorceress, in particular, created a group that better resembled a disco ball when tossed in the sun. Only fire could destroy Cold Ones, as they were so dubiously named. When I ran into Edward and his coven, I did not know what they were, but I soon figured it out after talking to the local tribe of shapeshifters and doing some mild research. In the forest behind Forks High School, I confronted him. We had both been posing as high school students, him so that his family would seem "normal" and me so I could stay closer to Charlie without raising suspicion.

Edward and his family shared their secrets with me, but I could never expose myself. Whenever Alice had a vision of me, it was because I wanted her to see me in that vision. Whenever Jasper felt my emotions, it was because I wanted him to know what I was feeling. Edward, I could never let in my mind. At times, the coven could be controlling and manipulative, but as long as they did not threaten the people of Forks, I saw no reason to expose myself as a vampire. When Edward "broke up" with me in the dark forest behind my home, I had burst into a fit of giggles in front of him. I had made him terribly upset to the point that he resorted to trying to tear down my confidence. Unfortunately for him, it made me laugh harder.

The memory of Edward Cullen sulking away into the forest made me chuckle as I drove down the road. The GPS alerted me to take the upcoming right, and as I did, a line of cars came into view. Teenagers were stumbling out of the front doors of the large house. Honestly, the residence was vast and impressive, but the dark wood house surrounded by towering trees gave the home a creepy and secluded motel vibe. I parked my car in the back, right behind a white Ford F150, and started making my way closer to the front entrance.

Getting closer, a scent of a familiar vampire wafted through the open door: Damon Salvatore was here. Damon being here really throws my game plan off but regardless I will have to face the rat bastard eventually. _Now, how am I going to get inside is the bigger question. Do I need to get into the house?_ I am thinking to myself when the dark haired teen from the dinner passes by, and his scent wafts over. Thankfully, I do not cringe outright, but inside I am reeling. Werewolves are deadly to a vampire, especially their bite. Fortunately, the boy is chatting excitedly with another young girl who is showcasing an ample bosom. Her dark green eyes skim over me before she smirks and drags the kid inside.

Sighing, I decided to circle the house. From the back patio, I watched as Damon Salvatore scowls from the top of a staircase that overlooks some young adults in his home. His dark brown hair is messy, and his black button up is wrinkled just a bit. _Someone must have had a bad night_.

From the corner of my eye, I see her. Long chestnut hair waving down her back and bright caramel eyes that have a hint of mischievousness to them. "Katherine." The name stumbles from my mouth before I can even react.

I glance over to Damon, and I know he is searching for whoever whispered Katherine's name. He places his hand on the small of her back and guides into an adjoining room. Rolling my eyes, I walk over to a few trees nearby and swiftly climb them. I am careful not to be seen by any of the party goers. The trees do not line up to the room Damon went into, but I can still hear the pair arguing.

"Can we not do this now? I'm having a terrible night." Damon's voice stressed.

"All summer, every single time I came to you with a lead, you made me feel like an idiot for having hope." Katherine's voice grated sounding just as whiny and petulant as Damon. _A match made in hell for sure,_ I thought.

"You were an idiot." Damon sighed heavily. "We both were."

I could hear Katherine gasp, "Tell me what you know, Damon." She demanded.

"I know you need to get back to your party, Elena." Damon's voice is a soft whisper.

 _Elena? Elena… Ohhh..._ "You idiots."

I waited seven seconds for Damon to pop his head out of the window before he noticed me perched at the edge of a tree.

"Isabella." His voice held a note of fear. Good. "Elena, go downstairs." He ordered the young doppelganger.

"No. I have questions damn it!" Elena cursed loudly causing Damon to turn around to glare at her. "Why didn't you tell me that you've been tracking Klaus' victims?" She walked forward, but Damon blocked her path. "And who is out there?"

"Because they're not Klaus' victims, Elena, they're Stefan's!" Damon beckoned for her to see reason.

"What?" I asked as the sensation of dread washed over me.

"Who's out there Damon?" I could hear the doppelganger ask again.

"Elena, please, for once do as I ask and go downstairs. Enjoy your party." I could see Damon's lips twitch into a halfhearted smile as he said Elena's name.

"Damon, I…" Elena started to say, but Damon pointed a finger out the window.

"Scary vampire outside needs to be taken care of, so go." His voice was stern but with a playful tone, and I rolled my eyes.

Once the door shut, Damon turned around and pushed himself out of the window until he was sitting with his feet dangling off the roof.

"Long time no bite," Damon said with a half smile.

"Where is Stefan," I growled at him.

"Stefan? Oh, he left a trail of body parts up and down the eastern seaboard Bellsie." Damon says as he swings his feet back and forth ruefully.

"Why?" I demanded.

"You know how it is when he goes full ripper Bellsie. One minute he is all 'I love white fluffy bunnies" and the next he is all "arg arg arg.'" Damon finished his jest with a fake lunge and making vampire teeth with his fingers.

"Cute becomes stupid quickly on you Daisy," I tell him with a smirk. "So where is his latest victim."

"No. Don't look for him." There was a dark edge to Damon's eyes. "Don't wait for him to come home. Stefan is gone, and he is not coming back. Maybe not even in Elena's lifetime." For once in the nearly seven decades I have known him, Damon Salvatore looks remorseful, broken, and dejected.

After kicking out all the teenagers at 3 am, Damon offered me a room to sleep in for the duration of my stay. When I got back from the motel with all my things, I went in search for him. Instead of in the parlor with a glass of scotch, I found him inside the attic room on the ground asleep with tear streaks dried on his cheeks. The room was messy with knickknacks scattered around the room and clothes ripped from hangers in the closet. A lot of the items I recognized as Stefan's, like his Hell's Angels signed helmet and tree of life painting he picked up at the American Folklife Festival at the Smithsonian in 1976. The room must be Stefan's room that Damon has destroyed in a childlike fit.

Sighing, I picked Damon up and ran him to the room next door. The room didn't look occupied, but for now, this would suit him fine. I place him in the bed and leave. I keep the door cracked open and made my way through the house looking for a suitable room to sleep in. Preferably one with a bathroom next to it. On the far east wing of the house is a large bedroom with an adjoining bathroom. The room was a male's room, but it appeared as if it had been untouched for some time. Pictures scattered around the chamber showed a man that resembled the Salvatore brothers. The room must have been their great nephew's room before Damon killed him.

Sinking into the bed, I rolled over onto my side. Surprisingly, the bed overlooks a small garden through the balcony window. With the windows opened as they are, I can see the gentle breeze skim over the top of the flowers and rustle some leaves. I fell asleep with the wind open, the breeze quickly lulling me to sleep. I dreamed of my human days with my sister as we played through the forests of Washington.

When I awoke the next morning, I rushed first to shower before throwing on a pair of faded blue jean knee length shorts, a soft gray Rolling Stones prism shirt and a pair of running shoes. I braided my hair swiftly before walking down stairs to the parlor. I found a small fridge disguised as a bookshelf behind the bar. The fridge is filled with blood bags and white wines. I grabbed one of the blood bags and began pouring a glass when I heard the front door open. Glancing up, Elena Gilbert stood in front of the parlor with her hands on her hips. She was wearing a lacy white tank top and blue jeans with cowgirl boots.

"Who are you?" Elena started to say as Damon walked down the stairs with no shirt on and low riding black pants.

"Just can't stay away, can you?" He sent her a smirk and then turned around to me. "Gonna pour me one?"

Rolling my eyes, I obliged and handed him the one I had already made myself. Fixing another, I listened to the two.

"Who is she?" Elena asked as again.

"Scary vampire. Big on the bity." Damon plopped down into a large leather chair.

I sent Elena a broad smile that may have seemed intimidating to some. I noticed the girl rolled her eyes before also taking a seat on the loveseat opposite from Damon.

"You have been dodging my calls." She said in a disapproving manner.

"Yeah, well, busy dealing with a dead fake girlfriend and unexpected visitors." I heard the hint of sadness in Damon's voice although he tried to mask it with humor.

"I saw the news, why didn't you tell me?" Elena leaned over and placed one hand on Damon's knee.

"Happy Birthday, Elena. Stefan killed Andie. Cake?" Damon shifted his leg so that her hand fell away.

"He called me, Damon." Elena's voice was a mere whisper.

"What?" Damon asked astonished.

"Stefan called me last night."

"Well, what did he say?" I asked irritated that the doppelganger couldn't get straight to the point.

"He didn't say anything, but it was him. Who are you to Stefan anyway?" She demanded as she stood up.

"The last time Stefan went binge drinking on a bunch of country folk, she happened." Damon snorted before taking a sip of his drink.

"Wait, Stefan turned you?" Elena looked shocked as she turned around to stare at me.

"We went through this, Elena," Damon says, and she turns back around. "Stefan is gone. I don't mean geographically."

Elena grabs a pack of papers from her back pocket as she stood up. "I asked Sheriff Forbes if she would trace the call's origin. It came from Tennessee." Elena starts to walk away and down the hall when we hear her call out. "If he were gone, he wouldn't have called." The door slammed shut leaving Damon and I staring at each other.

"Care to explain all this mess," I say with a flourish of my hand.

"I believe Stefan kept you fairly well informed about the doppelganger, Katherine, and Klaus. What you may not have heard has Klaus compelled out the Ripper to spare my life. A werewolf got a hold of me and turns out Klaus is the cure for werewolf bites." Although Damon sneered the last part, I heard a heavy note of distress and sadness in his voice.

"Stefan did inform me, but I didn't believe the eerie creepiness. Oh. There is something I forgot to do." A memory of Lexi destroying Damon's supply of whiskey hit me, and I smiled viciously.

"What's that?" Damon uttered out as he turned to give me a small smirk.

I grabbed the edge of the bar that housed all of Damon's favorite Whiskeys, Bourbons, and Scotches. With a twist of the wrist, the bottles and the bar came crashing to the ground. Damon looked at me with absolute disbelief.

"What the literal fuck, Bella?" He screamed as he flashed forward and grabbed my neck.

"You murdered Lexi, Damon." I grabbed his hand and dislocated his arm from his shoulder blade. Before he could recover, I picked up one of the jagged pieces of glass and twisted it into his stomach. "You were supposed to protect Stefan and instead he has disappeared." I sent a swift kick to his shin and felt the bones crumble upon impact. "You have utterly failed as a brother and as a friend, Damon Salvatore." The anger that flashed in my eyes must have alerted him to the proximity of my anger. He quickly backed away from me as I marched out of the house, despite the inner urge to destroy everything, and headed towards the city of Mystic Falls.

Memories of Lexi and Stefan through the ages bombard me, and I find myself missing the two more. I take out my phone and look at the last photo of the three of us together. The photo was taken a right after Edward had dumped me and I had decided to head to St. Augustine, Florida. Lexi and Stefan had met me there, and we roamed the streets laughing and drinking. The last picture was as the sun had just set, the purple still fading into the dark clouds. Lexi and Stefan were on each of my sides, and we were all smiling broadly on the Fort looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. I played a few of the videos we had of each other playing in the ocean and running down the alley ways. I felt the tears trickle down and found myself sitting in an old looking cemetery.

I go to switch my phone off when Damon's face appears on the screen. Angrily, I swipe the answer feature and snarl into the phone. "What Damon?"

"Oh hi there Miss wanders off for 3 hours by herself and then gets testy when I check in on her." I could practically hear his eye roll.

Groaning, I slap my hand to my forehead. "What do you want."

"I have a lead on Stefan."

"Where?" I turn around to see Damon standing in front of me.

"A small area right in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee," Damon speaks to me directly instead of the phone. I put mine away and look around.

"So what are we doing standing around here. Let's go." I start to move forward, but Damon flashes in front of me.

"Bella, there will be werewolves and Klaus. Not to mention we will be pissing off one little annoying doppelganger. You okay with this? Are you ok with helping me bring him back?" Damon's ice blue eyes try to penetrate my mind, and I smirk.

"It's Stefan. No matter what, I want him back and safe. I don't like you, but that doesn't mean I won't work with you to help Stefan. So let's go get changed for a little romp in the woods." I say with a laugh and flash through the woods.

Within a few hours, Damon and I were stepping out of his Blue Camaro and strolling through the forest in time to surprise Elena. Elena is currently talking to an older man with light brown hair and soft blue eyes. From the sound of the conversation, the pair were having an argument about protection and the dangers of the supernatural.

As Elena got closer to the water line of the creek, Damon chuckled a bit. "Watch this."

"Yeah, well, then why don't you save it for future generations of stubborn, relentless baby Gilbert's." The man said gruffly.

"Okay, and how 'bout you borrow it until after we survive this? I'd feel bad if I got you killed before happy hour." Elena jokes and hands a large ring over to the man. He picks it from her fingers and smiles softly at her.

Elena smiles as the man takes the ring and backs a bit further away, closer to the water's edge. "I don't know why you think you're a lost cause." She started, but Damon pushes her into the water. She stands up, soaking wet and glares at Damon. "DAMON! How are you even here?"

"Thanks for the tip, brother." Damon laughed as he took a look at the crossbow from the man who Elena had been talking with earlier.

"You sold me out!" Elena shrieked in disbelief.

"You think I'd take you to a mountain range of werewolves on a full moon without backup?" The man looked as if she had wounded his pride.

"Get out of the water, Elena," Damon said as I walked over.

"If I get out of the water, you're gonna make me go home." She sulked as she sat on one of the large rocks.

"Yes, because I'm not an idiot like you." Damon stuck out his tongue.

"Right now, you are both acting like idiots," I said as I flipped over the creek and landed on the dry land by the strange crossbow wielding man.

"You gave up on him Damon." Elena huffs and stares at the forest away from us.

"He didn't give up on Stefan, Elena." The girl looked over at me as I spoke. "Damon face reality. The Stefan you knew and loved gone due to Klaus. There is nothing we can do about that. Right now. If you want to influence him back, get out of the water." I stretched out my hand towards her, and she slapped it away.

"NO!"

"What's your big plan, Elena? Huh? You gonna walk through a campsite full of werewolves, roast a marshmallow, and wait for Stefan to stop by?" Damon snarled at her.

"My plan," She hissed as she picked herself out of the water, "is to find him and help him." She stood in front of Damon with an intensity in her eyes. "Damon, this is the closest that we have been since he left. I am not going home."

"Klaus thinks you died when he broke the curse. That makes you safe. This," Damon stretched his arm out wildly "This is not safe."

"I'm not leaving before we find him." Elena pushed passed him and came to stand by the strange man.

"It's a full moon tonight, Elena." The man says softly as he looks down at her.

Elena lifted up her head and nodded briefly. "Then we'll find him before then."

"Okay, okay. But we are out of here before the moon is full and I'm werewolf bait." I say as the three slowly comes to terms with the situation we now resided in.

"I promise," Elena says as she looks at me.

"No offense, but I don't know you, so I don't trust you. No matter what Stefan has said about you." I turn away from the trio and start to lead us deeper into werewolf territory.

"Damon, who is she?" I heard the other man ask.

"She's an old friend, Ric." Damon's voice is a whisper, and I resist the urge to smile.

"You have those." I heard Elena scoff as she picked up her bag from the ground.

When we started hiking, the sun was above our heads, but as I step aside to let Damon take the lead, the sun is setting. Elena had bitched and whined the entire time, earning snarky comments from me and eye rolls from Damon. I learned the crossbow wielders name was Alaric (Ric) Saltzman, local Vampire Hunter and High School history, teacher. We were talking about the French Revolution when Damon turned around to quiet us down and ask for directions from Ric.

"We got about a mile left," Ric said as he pushed the map back into the backpack.

"The sun's about to set as well," I say as I look up through the trees to see the stars peeping through the clouds.

"I understand that Bella," Elena growled out.

"She was just saying…"

"The moon doesn't hit its apex for a while, Damon." She said as she passed him on the trail. "We have time."

I rolled my eyes and deliberated between tossing a rock at her head or just fireman style carrying her away when I heard some twigs snapping. A few feet from us stagger out a man, bloodied and confused, with sharp teeth. Ric immediately points his crossbow at the man.

"Stay where you are!" I hear Ric command, but the man senses what Damon and I are.

"Vampires." He sneers and charges over to Damon. The man pushes Damon into a tree and is trying to take a bite of Damon when Elena tosses a grenade to Damon.

"Damon!" Elena yells and Damon catches it and slams it into the werewolf's face just as it explodes. The agonizing screams match the burn marks that now mar the man's face. It doesn't take long for the man to slip into unconsciousness. I notice Ric had even shot an arrow at the man's heart although he missed.

"Let me guess: Hybrid," I say dryly as they look at each other.

Damon and Ric ended up tying the hybrid to one of the tall trees with vervain ropes. I laughed a bit as Damon burned when he took the lines from Elena. I walked around the perimeter as the trio decided on what they wanted to do with their capture. Personally, the man is half wild and deserves to catch some peace: in other words, we should kill him. Sighing I walked around a few trees to clear my head when I heard Elena scream.

I started racing forward when I heard footprints behind me. I stopped underneath I large oak tree and waited patiently. The bloodied werewolf is running from Damon when I see a quick flash of a vampire. The beast drops to the ground, a hole present where his heart should be. Stefan Salvatore looks down at the werewolf and tosses the heart down to the ground before looking up at Damon. Stefan's usually bright green eyes are coal black with the veins running along the edges of his eyes. His black shirt had a few rips and blood stains.

"Fancy meeting you here," Damon says wryly as he takes in the disheveled look of his younger brother.

"What part of 'don't follow me anymore' got lost in translation, Damon?" Stefan snarled.

"Might want to take it up with your girlfriend," I say as I walk out from the shadow of the oak tree. Stefan turns around, and I see the surprise in his eyes with a twinge of guilt and fear. Stefan's humanity is still there. "You don't want her chasing you; I'd stop with the late-night phone calls." I wink at him and smile softly.

"I didn't call her." He coughs out.

"Bless your heart, but you are a terrible liar," I say as I pat his shoulder before walking over to stand by Damon.

"She's not gonna give up on you," Damon said with a serious tone.

"She has to. Because I'm never coming back." Stefan growls before taking off into the forest.

I feel Damon tense up and slap his shoulder a bit. "Hey, D, why don't you go and take Elena home." I put my finger to my nose so that Damon knows not to ask questions. He nods his head in understanding and disappears.

Lifting my head, I find Stefan's scent and the smell of werewolves coming from the far northeast. I race off as quietly as possible. Growing closer, the stench of death becomes overbearing, and I catch myself from gagging at the site of a dozen or more mid-transition werewolves that have died. A man with dirty blonde hair is throwing a bottle of beer towards Stefan who looks away with a confused expression.

"I did everything I was told!" The blonde screamed as he turned around and glared at Stefan. The man tried to regain his composure as he took a shaky hand and dragged it down his weathered face. Turning away from Stefan, the blonde started to pace awkwardly around one of the dead bodies. "I should be able to convert them. I broke the curse. I killed a werewolf. I killed a vampire. I killed the doppelganger."

Judging by Stefan's awkward flinches through the man's tirade, the blonde was Klaus Mikaelson.

Klaus turned back around and stared at Stefan intently. "You look like hell."

"Last I checked, I'm dying." Stefan rolled up his sleeve revealing a nasty looking bite that was beginning to ooze a yellow puss.

Klaus looks away from Stefan to the dead body of the man Stefan had tracked earlier. Stefan must have brought it back with him.

"I had to take him out. I didn't have a choice." Stefan grumbled, and Klaus looked up at Stefan. "I failed you. I'm sorry. Do what you have to do." Stefan inclines his head and closes his eyes, and I hear Klaus chuckle a bit.

"It should have worked."

Turning around, Klaus picks an empty beer bottle off the ground and wipes off the lip. He bites down harshly on his hand and making a fist, holds it over the small opening of the bottle. After a few moments, Klaus gives the bottle to Stefan.

"Bottoms up. We're leaving." Stefan takes the bottle from Klaus and adopts a long sip. "It appears you're the only comrade I have left." With a sigh, Klaus flashes away.

Stefan looks towards the distance where Klaus disappeared to and then to the dark area of the forest I have been silently watching. He winks before tossing the bottle on the ground and disappearing as well.

 _"_ _Stefan, what have you got yourself into?"_ I whisper with a shake of my head.


	3. Chapter 3

Ever since leaving Stefan in the woods, I have stayed with Damon at the boarding house. Some days we wake up and plan an attack to get him back. Other days, Damon has already drunk himself into a stupor before six am. My nights are sleepless as I toss and turn through nightmares. Last nights dreams have left me exhausted, and I cannot muster the strength to move from the bed. Where was Stefan? Why did Klaus take him?

The sun is rising through the treetops and light is beginning to seep into my room. A patch of light flickers to the bed and irritates my eyes. Sighing, I flip over onto my stomach and hug the body pillow. I don't want to go down stairs and watch Damon's mental breakdown. Hearing my stomach grumble, I frown and groan before tossing the blankets off. I slide off the bed just as my bedroom door opens. Unphased by the intrusion, I turn around to see a half dressed Damon. His dark brown hair is sticking out in multiple areas, and he was still wearing his night pants.

"Ah, you're up already," Damon smirks as his eyes roam over my undressed form.

"Yes, and I'm about to get dressed, so please leave," I say rolling my eyes as I walk in my ensuite bathroom door. Damon staring at me while I am only wearing a lace bralette and boy shorts made me a bit uncomfortable.

"No need to be shy, Bellsie." Damon half sang as I shut the door to my bathroom. "Is that a tattoo?"

"Yes, now go." I dragged out the word as I shut the bathroom door. The tattoo was a large blue and black butterfly with wings that tapered off into smaller butterflies of various colors on my back. I got it just recently with Lexi on a trip to Florida. The memory made me smile and my heartache at the same time. Lexi had been so full of life and laughter. I still have not forgiven Damon. Swallowing the rage that had begun to bubble over, I continued toward the closet in the bathroom. Thankfully the bathroom and closet were combined, so I didn't have to walk back out to grab my clothes. Instead, I listened to Damon as I quickly grabbed some clothes.

"I got an interesting call this morning." He says, and I can hear the slight groan of the bed as he sits down.

"Uh huh." I murmur as I pull on my dark blue jean shorts. I grab a dark red halter top and inspect it. There was a hole in the top, so I threw it in the closet and searched for another shirt.

"Stefan is in Chicago."

I paused and placed a hand on my heart. Closing my eyes, I took a deep, steadying breath. "How do you know that?"

"It came to me in a dream." He laughs.

"Damon." I use his name as a warning while I slip on a burgundy v-neck shirt. I grabbed a pair of white low top converses and a pair of white ankle socks before walking out of the bathroom.

"Fine." Damon pouted when he spotted me. "Kitty Kat called me."

"Katherine? Why? Wait. How does she even know where they are?" I questioned while putting on my shoes.

"She's following them, I guess." Damon shrugged. "So, wanna go save St. Stefan? We can even get Elena to go with us. You know she will want to if we do anyway." I looked up from tying my shoes to see Damon smiling down at me.

"Damon, that is a terrible, horrible, incredibly foolish idea." I laugh as I stand up and look him in the eye. "Let's do it and see what happens."

Damon smiled brightly. "Ohh. Maybe Klaus will finally kill me!" Damon squealed before racing off.

I walk back into the closet and pull out a duffle bag. After piling the bag up with clothes and shoes, I place it on my bed and start looking around. We will probably only be in Chicago for a night or two. I notice Stefan's journal next to my bed. I had been reading his journals since the woods incident. The one on the bedstand was from the 1920's, during and after he had a major ripper moment. I picked up the journal and placed it in my bag. It couldn't hurt to bring this one since I'll be in Chicago anyway.

Damon returned with Elena an hour later with a bag in tow. We hopped into my car and started driving. The drive would take approximately 12 hours. Damon took the front seat while Elena stretched out in the back. We had just made a pit stop in White Sulphur Springs, WV when Damon and Elena started talking about rescuing Stefan.

"With Klaus there, I just feel so uneasy!" Elena groaned.

"Well, good. If you were at ease, I'd be a bit worried." Damon laughed.

I noticed Elena playing with the necklace that hung around her neck in the rearview mirror.

"That's a lovely necklace," I say trying to take their minds off Klaus.

"Thank you, Stefan gave it to me." Elena smiled as she fiddled with the locket.

"I sure hope we find him, cause it would suck if the last memento of Stefan were that crappy old necklace," Damon says as he filters through the radio stations.

Elena looks stricken, and I notice a tear beginning to streak down her cheek. I rear back my right hand and smack Damon upside the head.

"Ow, what the hell, Bell?" He hollers and grabs his head.

"You're are the worst person on the face of the fucking planet," I grumble.

"Aw, that's the nicest thing you have ever said about me!" Damon laughs, and I roll my eyes.

"That necklace was a gift. You shouldn't be so callous." I shake my head lightly.

"That necklace is old though!" He whined loudly.

"It's an antique, Damon." Elena sneered, and I felt myself smile at her boldness. "Like you." She added, and I let out a roaring laugh.

Damon glared at me, and I stifle my laughter with a fake cough.

"Hey Bella," Elena's voice weakly comes from the backseat. I look at her from the rearview mirror. "Do you happen to have a book or something I can read? I'm getting antsy and wanna take my mind off it."

"Ah, I wish I did, but the only one I do have is Stefan's journal," I admit with a shrug of my shoulders. "At our next gas up, we can stop at a Walmart so you can grab one. Would that be ok?"

"Su…" Elena starts to talk when Damon leans over the backseat and starts ruffling through my bag. "What are you doing?" She asks.

"Ah ha!" Damon exclaims and looks at Elena with a mischievous grin. "Here, read this." Damon hands her Stefan's journal. "Paints a pretty little picture of Stefan's first experience in Chicago," Damon says before sitting correctly in his seat.

"This is Stefan's journal. I'm not going to invade his private thoughts." Elena huffed as she threw the book into Damon's lap.

"Spoken like someone who has a secret diary." Damon turns his head toward her and smirks. "You need to be prepared for what you're about to see." His voice is a whisper, and she looks at him with large puppy dog eyes.

"I've seen Stefan in his darkest periods." She frowns and looks out the window. "I can handle it."

Could she? Could she handle the Ripper? Damon must have thought what I was thinking. He picked the journal up off his lap and flipped open a page.

"Ok then, here's one. March 12, 1922. 'I've blacked out days. I wake up in stranger' blood. In places, I don't recognize, with women I don't remember'." As Damon spoke, I watched Elena shift uncomfortably in her seat.

"Ahh! I'm shocked! Stefan's not a virgin?" I joke trying to get a smile from the depressed girl. She frowns slightly before looking up and giving me a soft smile.

"Well duh, what are you a blonde?" Damon laughs.

Elena leans forward and takes the journal from his hands.

"Hey!" He exclaims.

"Take a nap, grandpa." Elena sticks out her tongue before leaning back and beginning to thumb through the journal.

"Ugh, fine." Damon groaned as he turned around in his seat. "Hey Bell, wanna play a game?"

"How about the "shutting the fuck up" game?" I smile at him, and he glares at me.

"I'm bored though!" Damon pouts as he beats the seat.

"Well maybe if you wait a little longer, a fuck will fall into my hand, and I can give it to you." I wink at him and hear Elena burst into a fit of giggles.

"You're so mean!" Damon cried out.

"Mhmm." I nod my head as I switch the car's stereo system to the Bluetooth player. Luckily my phone was the only one synchronized, so I pressed the shuffle button.

Once we finally made it to Chicago, Damon asked that I drop him and Elena off at an old apartment complex. I gave them both my cell phone number and the name of the hotel we would be staying at during the trip. Elena's raised eyebrows told me she would enjoy the luxury suite I had placed on hold for her.

I arrived at the Langham Chicago on time for check in and walked through the two rooms. One room had two rooms attached with king beds in each, perfect for Elena and me. Damon's room was on another floor and was a single suite with a king bed and kitchen attached. If we were going to take a spur of the moment trip to Chicago, I wanted to enjoy it at least. I dropped my duffel bag in the room that overlooked Lake Michigan.

Driving 12 hours had exhausted me. I sat down on the sofa and turned on a local news channel. I didn't realize I had fallen asleep until the phone in my pocket had come to life and began singing "Another girl, another planet" by the Only Ones. Groggily picking up the phone, I barely recognized the number.

"Hello?" I groan as I push myself up to a sitting position and look around awkwardly.

"Bella!" Elena's voice was shaky, and I can tell she is crying.

"'Lena? What's wrong?"

"They were here. I saw Stefan and Kl… He..." She started hyperventilating as she tried to explain.

"Shhh. It's ok. Take a deep breath. Shh." I try to console her over the phone, but after a few minutes, the girl is still crying softly into the phone. "Elena, are you still at Stefan's old apartment?"

She mumbled a soft "Yes."

"I'll be there in 10 minutes," I told her and jumped up from the couch.

10 minutes to cross the city was impossible in a car, and it was still day out so running at vamp speed was a no. Sighing, I walked over to the balcony and opened the doors. Closing my eyes, I envisioned myself turning into a large light brown Golden Eagle. I felt my body shift and the wind pushing against my beautiful long wings. I opened my eyes and let out a small squeak of happiness that the transformation was successful. With the flap of my wings, I jumped from the building and started soaring above the vast city. The fluffy white clouds that I admire, I can now soar above or below.

I couldn't always transform into the Eagle. I remember when it first happened and how freaked out I was at the experience. I had called Stefan for advice at the time. Thanks to him, I had overcome the fear and began traveling as an eagle more often. Many times has the transformation saved my life.

When I am in my eagle form, I can easily spot my destination despite the long distance. The flight takes 6 minutes before I have to start my descent. Landing on the top of the building, I command my body to change back. Despite the natural transformation earlier, the pain of returning to a human form causes me to double over for a moment. Shaking off the queasiness, I quickly make my way to the stairwell and call Elena.

The phone rings a few times before I hear her voice muffled a quiet "Hello?"

"Hey, meet me in the stairwell," I say as I jump down a flight of stairs.

"Bella?" Elena asks.

"Duh!" I say with a soft laugh. "No, get that booty moving." I chuckle again as I hit the end call button.

As I pass the 6th-floor stairwell entrance, I hear Elena's voice from the stairs below me. "Bella?" She whispers.

"Lena!" I say with a squeal as I jump down from the stairs above her.

"Oh my god!" She screeches as he presses herself to the wall.

"You ready to go?" I say as I bend down to retie my shoes.

"You scared me!" Elena breathed out.

Looking up to her, I gave a Cheshire cat like grin. "Well, I am naturally terrifying."

Elena looked at me for a second before chuckling gently into her hand. "I'm sorry Bella, I must seem crazy." Elena started to fan at her flushed face.

"Yes, but that's why I like you, doll." I sent her a wink and watched a faint blush span across her cheeks.

"When all of this is over, and Stefan is home, I want my sanity back." Elena smiles sadly down at her hands.

"Hun, to have that returned, you would have had to have it first." I laugh, and she sends me a glare before laughing as well.

"True." She smiles.

"No, but seriously are you ready to leave? Cause I have a hot tub waiting and it has our names written on it." The look of pure joy that splashed across her face made me smile. Elena needed to get her mind off of everything that had gone wrong lately. If at least for a few fleeting moments, I wanted her to be able to laugh and smile freely.

With a nod of her head, I led us out of the stairwell onto the busy Chicago street. Elena stumbled as she followed behind me. Hailing a taxi, I sent the girl a bright smile, but she was staring at a restaurant nearby. I could faintly hear her stomach growling, and I shook my head.

"Elena, come on. We can stop and grab food when we are closer to the hotel." At the sound of my voice, she jumped slightly before nodding enthusiastically at the thought of food.

We spent the ride back to the hotel in silence and absorbed in our thoughts. We had just stepped into the hotel when my phone began ringing. I looked at the screen and sighed heavily as Damon's name flashed across the screen.

"Yes, Damon?" I say as I continued walking through the Hotel's entrance and headed for the elevators.

"I need you and Elena to meet me somewhere." Damon's voice sounds rushed, and I realize he is breathing heavy.

"Why?" I look toward Elena and roll my eyes while pointing to my phone. She smiles softly and shakes her head.

"Because " He accentuates the word, "I know where Stefan will be in 45 minutes, and I have a plan." Damon snickered.

"Great, you have a plan, Damon." I sneer into the phone as the elevator opens and we step inside. "How about you fill us in on this so called plan first, and then Elena can decide if she wants to go."

Elena looked at me with wide eyes, and I smiled at her reassuringly.

"Well aren't you Sergeant Stick-in-the-mud today." I could almost hear his eyes rolling.

"Yes, so spill or I'm hanging up."

"Fine. Stefan and Klaus are meeting at Gloria's. It's a bar on the east side that is owned by a witch."

The elevator came to a stop, and I walked out of the metal contraption with Elena. Our room is only a few feet away, thankfully.

"Ok. So what's your plan?" I ask as I unlock the door to our room and usher Elena inside. I put my phone on speaker so Elena could hear Damon's idea.

"I distract Klaus so Elena can talk to Stefan. You, of course, being our back up if anything happens."

I look to Elena, and she nods her head up and down. "Ok. We are in but give us a few minutes to change."

"Ok. I'll send you the address." Damon says right before disconnecting.

I look back to Elena, and I notice she is frowning. "What is it, Elena?" I ask as I head toward my room.

"I...I left my bag in Damon's car." Her voice falters, and I look back to her. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks still had the uneven lines of her dried tears.

"Don't worry about that. I brought enough clothes. You can borrow some of the mines." I smile at her, and she smiles back. "Why don't you grab a quick shower and I'll pick out an outfit for you?" I suggest, and she nods. She starts to walk toward her room before turning back around and pointing at the door. "Yes," I say before she asks anything. "That is your room." I laugh, and she breathes out a bit of air.

"Thank you," Elena says before walking into the room and shutting the door.

Heading into my room, I strip down quickly and pick up my duffel bag. I dump the clothes onto the bed and stare at the pile as I think of outfit ideas that suited Elena. I find a red and black striped body con dress that stopped mid thigh and had a deep v-neck. Red would look good on the leggy brunette; I thought as I inspected the dress a bit more. Looking back at the pile, I realized I also had a blue jean jacket to combine with the dress. Grabbing the black heels off the bed as well, I carried the dress, shoes, and jacket into the living area and placed them on the edge of the couch.

Racing back into my room, I grabbed my long dark blue jeans and slipped them on. Looking back to the pile of clothes, I snatched up a light green v-neck shirt and put it on. Thankfully, I had remembered to bring my favorite pair of brown ankle boots. I slipped the pair of boots on and started placing the pile of clothes back into the duffel bag. I heard my phone ring and rushed to pick it out of my dirty pants pocket.

"Hello?" I huffed out.

"Where are Y'all?" Damon hissed out through clenched teeth.

Sighing, I looked down at my phone. "Damon, it has only been 10 minutes. Elena is getting dressed, and then we are on our way."

Damon was quiet for a moment before grumbling a quick "Ok" and hanging up.

"Ass," I say softly before walking into the living room. Elena was on the couch, her wet hair wrapped in a towel, and tapping on her phone.

"Hey, ready to go or do you want to dry your hair first," I asked while walking toward the couch she sat on.

Turning her head to my voice, she smiled when she saw me. "Thank you for letting me borrow the dress. The shoes were a little snug, so I think I'll just wear my shoes." She lifted her foot, and I saw she was wearing black converses.

"Anytime Doll." I smile and place my hand on the back of the couch. "So, are you ready."

"Yes," Elena replies instantly before taking the towel off her head. The sweet scent of cinnamon and vanilla fills the air.

"Alright, let's go. Damon sent me the address, and I googled it. It turns out its maybe two blocks away. I say we walk." I say as I grabbed my purse and put it on my shoulder.

As we walked to the bar, Elena and I chatted. I asked her about her studies, and she confided that she was falling behind. We made a plan for me to tutor her three days a week regardless of any supernatural dramas. I was a firm believer in education, and I stressed the importance of finishing school onto her. By the time we reached the bar, Elena and I are laughing at shared terrible science jokes. I spotted Damon first and waved at him. He strolled up and gave us a quick nod.

"Are yall ready for this? It could get ugly." Damon asks as he approaches while staring at Elena.

"This plan of yours could get us killed." Elena states as she shifts uncomfortably under his piercing gaze.

"Of course we are in!" I say as I roughly clamp Damon on the shoulder. He sends me a cruel side ways glare, but I only grin at him.

"Let's get this over with." Elena sighs as she marches forward.

"Woah, Woah. Slow your roll there." I say as I vamp speed in front of her. "We need to make a plan first," I say gently to the young and stubborn woman.

"Oh. Yeah, that would be a good idea." Elena slumps her shoulders and turns back around to face Damon. "So what's the play, Damon." Elena places her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, what's the plan Double D," I smirk, and Damon gives me a quizzical look.

"Double D?" he sputters out, and Elena starts laughing into her hand.

"Damn Damon, it was a joke." I laugh, and he rolls his eyes.

"Your an idiot." He huffs. "Anyway, I go in and confront Stefan and Klaus. Unfortunately, you two took your time, and they have already arrived. I face Klaus, Stefan will hopefully try to rush out, and Elena stands in the doorway waiting for him. He won't run when he sees you." Damon looks into her eyes and Elena nods. "Bella, you will enter before us. Act like an ordinary patron."

"Oh. No. Normal is not my thing." I quip.

"As normal as you can then, whatever." Damon rolls his eyes. "Alright, Elena why don't you just stand across the street?"

"Sure, I can do that." Elena started walking towards the crosswalk.

"Damon, go with her and then come into the bar. She shouldn't walk by herself." I comment as I watch Elena walk away.

Damon waits for a moment before jogging after Elena. I shake my head and straighten my shirt before moving closer to the bar. At the entryway, I felt a strange shift in the air and realize that a magic barrier was in place. The witch who owns the place must use magic to deter humans from getting inside. With a deep breath, I open the doors and make my way inside. Despite the barrier being invisible, I still feel the snap of magical current as I pass through.

The bar is quiet and empty except at the bar where I can see two dark blonde males sitting on the barstools. I know instantly that the man on the right is Stefan, my creator. He was staring at the wall as if he was a statue. The man beside him is a lighter blonde, and he is drinking an amber colored beverage. At the sound of the door shutting behind me, the male who is drinking looked over his shoulder. The red luminescence of the sign behind him caused an eerie glow, and I paused at the entrance. I could see the man has light blonde hair, bright blue eyes, a slight shadow of a beard trickling across his chiseled face, and eyelashes women would murder over. He reminded me of Adonis, the Greek god of beauty and desire. The man lifted a sculpted eyebrow before turning back to face the wall. From the description Damon and Elena gave me, this man must be Klaus.

I let out a small sigh of relief and made my way to the bar. The click and snap of my boots echo in the quiet space before I take a seat at the end of the bar. A few moments later, a small woman walks out carrying a large case of beer. I recognized her immediately as Gloria Adler. I had met her in the late 1950's during my first trip to Chicago. At the time, I was on my own and trying to find someone to perform a spell for me. Gloria was the witch I eventually found and together we made a fearsome duo. She enjoyed my sass and brazen attitude. Funny how she looks the same as she did when I first met her. Beautiful cocoa skin that glistened slightly and dark coffee-colored eyes. She wore her hair shorter now, and the faint lines of age were slowly starting around her eyes.

"Oh, hi. I didn't realize I had another guest come in." The woman sent the two men a sharp glance. "Welcome to Gloria's. What can I get for you?" She asks as she starts filling up the refrigerator.

"Oh no worries, I just walked in," I assure her while taking a quick scan of the inventory. "Can I get a Classic Sazerac?" I smile towards her, and she stares at me for a moment. I decide to go with the drink that she first made me in the 50's. The Sazerac was a classic cocktail from New Orleans which happens to be Gloria's hometown. I hope she remembers me, but there is no light of recognition in her eyes.

"Sure thing, first I need to see your I.D," Gloria says as she walks closer to me and I nod my head as I try to squelch the disappointment building in my chest.

Grabbing my purse, I ruffle through it until I find the I.D. I needed. I had gotten it when I was staying in a small town in Washington. The I.D. wasn't a forgery either, although I did use fakes to obtain the small card. At least the card stated I was 26 which made ordering drinks easier than compelling.

Gloria took a quick look at the I.D. before smiling. "Washington state huh? What brings a pretty thing like you all the way to Chicago?" She starts to pour the whiskey into a crystal glass.

"Lots of reasons but mostly a bad breakup," I say with a shrug.

"We have all had those. Well, bottoms up girl. You will find someone better." She hands me the drink, and I take an eager sip to calm my nerves.

"I'm going to the back for just a moment, but if you need anything just holler." Gloria waves as she disappears behind a swinging door. For the faintest of seconds, I see her wink at me, and I smile into my glass. Gloria does remember me, but she doesn't want Klaus to know.

We sit in silence for a few moments. The sound of rushing cars passing by and the murmur of humans walking by the bar the only music to listen to; until Stefan takes in a large gulp of air and the silence brakes. I keep my face impassive and try not to turn to stare at him.

"You compelled me to forget?" Stefan asks in awe.

"It was time for Rebekah and me to move on. Better to have a clean slate." The man says before polishing off the last bit of alcohol he had in his glass.

"But why?" Stefan turns to stare at the man. Stefan is so engrossed in the man beside him that he has yet to notice me. "You shouldn't have to cover your tracks…" Stefan stops mid sentence. "unless...Unless you're running from someone."

"Story Time's over, Stefan." The man says curtly, and I notice, from the corner of my eye, that he is tilting his head toward me.

I quickly take a sideways glance, and I see Stefan's wide eye stare at me. I pretend not to see him or the man beside him. I simply take a sip of my drink and set it back down on the counter.

"I need another drink," Stefan grumbles. "A real one." Stefan disappears from the bar, and I am left alone with the strange man.

"So, Washington state huh?" The man looks over at me and gives me a smirk.

I tilt my head so that I can see him, but I keep my body angled to the bar. "Yes, Washington state."

"So what kind of fool left you?" He smiled toothily, and I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"He was a…" I thought for a moment. What was the best word to describe Edward? "He was a dumbass," I say with a shrug, and the man lets out a booming laugh.

"Well, that's quite the description!" He snickered as he looks at me. "What brings you into Gloria's though." His voice has lost the mirth he displayed mere seconds before. Instead, he sounds ominous and threatening.

"I guess you could say another dumbass led me here." I sighed before taking a sip of the bourbon.

"I know you're not human, girl." The man whispers harshly to me.

"Of course I'm not human. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to go through Gloria's barrier." I roll my eyes. I hear the whoosh of air, and the man is now within an inch from my face.

His blue eyes stare intensely into mine. "Tell me why you are here and who you are." The small dilation of his eyes confirms my suspicions that this man is Klaus. Unfortunately, his compulsion didn't work on me. Huh. Weird.

The door closed and Klaus turned his head to stare at the new customer. With the click of his tongue, Klaus moved away from me. "I see they've opened the doors to the riff-raff now."

"Oh, honey, I've been called worse." Damon's voice drifted from the door, and I turned slightly in my chair to see him.

"You don't give up, do you?" Klaus took his seat, and Damon moved forward and sat beside him.

"Give me my brother back." Damon nodded his head. "You'll never have to see me again."

"Well, I am torn. You see, I promised Stefan I wouldn't let you die, but how many freebies did I sign up for? And apparently you want to die; otherwise, you wouldn't be here, so…" Klaus extended his hand and pretended to be weighing the air.

"What can I say? I'm a thrill-seeker." Damon started to laugh until Klaus reached out one hand and grasped Damon's throat.

Klaus seemed like someone I could easily anger. He was overly confident and quick tempered. How fun would it be just to ruffle those feathers?

"Excuse you but can you take this shit outside?" I shout at the pair. Damon looked at me with wide bulging eyes and Klaus looked at me like I was insane.

"Excuse me?" Klaus scoffs.

"You're very rude, and I'm trying to enjoy my drink." I huff and turn my face away in aggravation.

Lifting Damon up with one arm, Klaus tosses Damon straight into me, and we collide into the side wall. I send Klaus a scathing look as he takes a sip from his drink.

"Oh, dear, what was that? Hmmm.. I'm a bit boozy, so you'll forgive me if I'm a bit brutish." Klaus laughs.

I push Damon off me and stomp over to the eccentric blonde before slapping him. "Ass," I say as he rears his head back to glare at me.

"Do you know who I am?" He yells at me. Gloria has made her way from the back of the bar and is looking at us with terror in her eyes.

"Yeah, you're a giant douche!" I huff and cross my arms across my chest. "I don't give two craps about your name or how old of a vampire you are."

"I'm the org…." Klaus started to say, but I interrupted him.

"I said I don't care. However, you spilled my whiskey, and that is unforgivable." I pointed to my glass that had crashed on the floor during Klaus' outburst. "Apologize," I demanded.

"Excuse me?" He was obviously taken aback by my command. He had even touched his collarbone in the classic "Clutch your pearls" way.

"I said apologize," I assert again, calmer and with a lethal tone.

"I'm not going to apologize to some...child." Klaus curtly replies and turns his back to me.

Did he just call me a child? I felt my anger flare, and I narrowed my eyes.

"Uh oh." I heard Damon cough.

"Child?" I scoff. "At least I'm not some half assed mutt who has mommy issues." I wanted to provoke him and cause him to attack me. I knew of Klaus Mikaelson and thanks to Gloria, and a few other witches, I knew some of his darkest secrets. I knew Klaus was always on the run from his father, Mikael, and that Klaus murdered his mother. Klaus' mother had been a powerful witch, and her soul still existed on the Other Side. The woman often spoke with witches and clairvoyants and was seeking a way back to the human realm.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Klaus turned around, and I could see his eyes shift to a golden color.

"I said, you are a half assed mutt with mommy issues," I smirk, and I can feel Damon moving closer to me for protection.

Klaus lurches forward to grab me, but I had counted on this. In the blink of an eye, I move away and stand by Gloria. I have her head in my hands, and Klaus turns to stare at me. "Ah ah ah…Wouldn't want to move and be without your witch, would you?" Gloria starts to raise her hands but I apply pressure to the witches temple, and she quickly lowers them.

"Are you clinically insane or incredibly annoying?" Klaus growls.

"I don't know. Probably both." I shrug.

"You want a partner in crime?" Damon's voice calls out, and Klaus turns his head to glare at the man. "Forget Stefan. I'm so much more fun!"

Damon laughs, but Klaus moves forward quickly. Slamming Damon into the ground, Klaus growls viciously. "You won't be any fun after you're dead."

I feel Gloria starting to fidget, and I release her gently. "Sorry about that Gloria," I whisper, and she gives me a soft smile. Gloria touches my face for a moment, and I smile softly at her. Turning around to face the two men fighting, Gloria raises one hand and waves it at the two men. Klaus' body lifts off the ground before crashing into the wall on the other side of the room.

"Really?" Klaus asks as he gets up from the floor. "Is it just Anger Klaus day?" He throws his hands into the air as an act of annoyance.

"It was drinking bourbon day and relaxing, but you messed that up for me." I murmur.

"What was that?" Klaus yells out to me.

"I called you ass!" I yell back. Again, Klaus gives me an incredulous look.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" He growls.

"What's there to be scared of?" I laugh and start to walk around the bar. "Death? I have already cheated that once. A werewolf? Please, they are more like lap dogs. And you?" I say as I step in front of him. "You are nothing to me so why should I be scared of you?" I level my gaze up to his blue orbs.

"Damn, Bells…" Damon whispers in awe.

"Damon," Klaus' voice grates as he continues to stare at me. "You don't have to negotiate your brother's freedom. When I'm done with him, he won't want to go back. As for you," He growls as he puts two hands on my shoulders, "While this has certainly been entertaining, you will forget everything you have seen here today. You will return to your home with no memory of your time at this bar." Klaus' eyes dilated again, and I smiled: again his compulsion didn't work on me.

"Hmmm… I think not." I laugh in his face.

Blinking back in surprise, Klaus drops his hands from my shoulders.

"Oh, what? Did you think you could control me?" I tilt my head to the side and smirk. "You must be a few fries short of a Happy Meal, huh?

Damon and Gloria's snickers were loud enough that Klaus sent them scathing glances. I decided to use the moment to my advantage and raised on my tip toes, so my mouth is by his ear.

"See you around, Balto," I whisper before dashing from the building.

 _ **Dear Readers,**_

 _ **Sorry for the late update. Life has been hectic, and there was even a point that I almost stopped writing. I lost the person who inspired me the most; My Aunt. She was constantly supportive and losing her was difficult. Shortly after she died, my grandfather also passed. I have struggled to find inspiration during this difficult period. Despite the losses, life goes on, and I have to be brave and vigorous. I have to keep moving forward. The days are getting easier, and when I think of them, I don't cry anymore. I won't go into details. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the update at least. Life will hopefully calm down enough for me to get back to writing more often.**_

 _ **XoXo AndriodScout**_


	4. Not an update

**Hey All,**

 **I am still working on my stories but work has been extremely busy. The good news is I will post new chapters for All in Time, Family Secrets and The Slaying hour by 9/29/17. I frequently read fanfiction so I know it's disappointing to hear. However, if you're upset by this news, just remember new chapters are coming! Hopefully, I will also have a laptop again so I can work from home. \\(;.;)/**

 **I hope everyone is doing ok and please feel free to leave me a comment on how you think the story is going, suggestions for future chapters, or just good old inspirational motivation!**

 **XoXo**

 **Android Scout**


	5. Chapter 4

The woods of Mystic Falls were quiet as I walked along the trail away from town. The past two days have been eerily calm despite what happened in Chicago. A sense of uneasiness washes over me as I think back to my meeting with Klaus Michaelson. The sociopathic and arrogant man haunted my nightmares last night and left me waking in a pool of sweat. Would Klaus consider me a challenge to exterminate? After I had left the bar and made it home, I had researched the self-proclaimed "Original Vampire." A message board on talked about how dangerous the hybrid was and some of the atrocities he committed with his family over his 1000 year existence. The supernatural world quaked at the mere mention of the Mikaelson name. According to the site, there were five siblings in the infamous family: Finn, Elijah, Klaus, Kol, and Rebekah. Most of the vampire world assumed Klaus had killed his siblings, but there was no proof of this. Plus, according to Elena and Damon, Klaus' older brother Elijah had rescued him in the hopes to be reunited with their other siblings.

I had also researched how I was immune to the compulsion. Theories around the vampire world suggested I could be a "Shield" or a vampire with the ability to protect their mind and body depending on the circumstances. There was also the possibility that I was also a hybrid of some sort. I only laughed the latter off of course. I knew my family lineage, and there were limited amounts of supernatural blood in it. Despite the lack of magical blood, I was aware that the inability to be compelled by an Original Vampire had made me a target not just to the Original Family, but for their enemies as well. Already my inbox on the site had been accosted by hundreds of vampires seeking vengeance and alliances against Klaus and his siblings.

Sighing loudly, I looked around the forest and smiled. As a girl, I had loved to play in the Washington forest with my sister. We would explore the woods and creeks around the town to the point we knew each square foot like the backs of our hands. At the sweet age of 13, my first kiss was surrounded by the woods as the rain dripped through the canopy above us. The sweet smell of oak, gypsy flowers, and thimbleberries had drawn me and my friend, Levi Uley, into the forest at first. As we were picking the flowers, I had laughingly called Levi my dearest heart to which he then confessed that he liked me. As the rain started trickling down, I stood immobile as my childhood friend walked towards me and kissed me gently on the lips.

I remember Levi's reaction when I resurfaced after my disappearance decades later. I had been traveling by through the forest near Forks when a pack of wolves had formed a line across a small creek ravine. I had tilted my head just as Levi had changed from a dark gray wolf. Naked and confused at my transformation, he had crossed the creek while I smiled softly at him. The boy I had grown to love when we were teenagers had grown into a rather handsome man.

 _"Isabella?" He had asked timidly while reaching towards me._

 _"Hello, Levi," I whispered while pushing a strand of hair from my face._

 _"What? How...when?" Levi stammered, and I watched as his shapeshifting friends retreating into the woods. Despite not seeing them, I knew they would be able to hear our conversation. I looked back to Levi and saw the tears slowly filling his eyes. "How long has it been? Nearly 30 years, and you look the same."_

 _"I know you will hate my kind, Levi. I remember the Quileute rules that you shared with me long ago." I touch his face gently, and his eyes widen at the chill emanating from my body._

 _"Vampire." He hissed before I could silence it with a finger._

 _"You know I would never hurt you or the tribe." I give him a dark look, and he nods his head. "I am sorry. I wish I could be human again." I sigh and look up to the clouded sky. "You have no idea how much I have hated what I am."_

My cellphone's ringtone brought me out of my memories with Levi. I fished the device out of my denim jacket pocket. Damon had sent me a text message requesting that I get to the boarding house as soon as possible. I sent him a quick message telling him I would be there shortly. Groaning, I turn on my heel and start back to town.

Arriving at the Salvatore Boarding House, I can hear Damon and Elena arguing softly. I make my way quickly to the living room and watch as Damon's hands Elena a glass of dark liquor. Elena takes a sip slowly and grimaces as the alcohol touches her tongue. Neither had realized I was standing at the hallway entrance.

"Yeah, it's strong." Damon laughs before taking a seat beside her. Leaning forward, he gives her a soft look before patting her back. "You know, I can help you forget too. At least the memories you don't want to keep."

Elena frowns into her glass before looking into Damon's eyes. "No. No compulsion. I need to remember. All of it." She shuddered despite the warmth in the room.

Damon holds up an intricate necklace and Elena gasps softly.

"I stole it back for you." He whispers gently.

I see the tears drip down Elena's face as Damon lowers his hand.

"He's gone this time." Elena sobs. "I watched it happen. After everything that we went through to get." She wipes her face roughly. "Now he's just… gone."

Damon went to give her a comforting hug, but I coughed softly to alert them I was there. Despite Elena's love for Stefan, she had begun to cling to Damon and he to her. I would never intervene, but I did not want to bear witness to anything they might do.

Damon looked up at me and instantly scowled. "Where have you been?" His voice was gruff, and I could see the flames of anger burning in his blue eyes.

"Well, Lord Protector, my life is my own to live and none of your concern." I started to walk towards the bar when Damon flashed in front of me. He was snarling at me.

"Damon stop!" Elena screeched as she turned to face us.

"What the hell has gotten into you?" I say as I push past him with enough force to send him stumbling to the ground.

"Elena nearly died today, and you were nowhere to be found!" Damon hissed as he came to a stand.

"What?" I turn quickly to look the girl in the face, but she is glaring at Damon.

"Yeah, well neither were you!" Elena huffed before getting up from the loveseat.

"Elna, I'm sorry," Damon says as he walks toward her. "I shouldn't have left." He whispers in her ear before cupping her cheek in his hand. "I promise you…" He stares intently into her eyes. "I will never leave you again." He smiles softly.

I am all but gagging when the sound of a familiar voice fills the hallway.

"Well isn't this cozy?" Stefan utters.

I look at Stefan and realize that the man standing in the hallway is not my mentor and friend but my creator: The Ripper.

Damon and Elena both gasp in surprise before stepping away from each other. Damon quickly suppresses his feelings before walking closer to Stefan. "What are you doing here brother?"

Stefan scoffs at Damon before striding into the room. He stops at the drink table and pours himself a glass of bourbon mixed with human blood.

"Last I checked, I live here." Stefan takes a deep drink from his glass. "Klaus is gone," Stefan shifted so that he was staring only looking at Elena. "But he asked me to keep watch on you until he returns." Elena returned his jovial stare with an eye-roll. "From now on, you're under my protection." Stefan holds up his drink in a mock toast before taking another sip. "Mmmm, by all means. Carry on." Stefan finishes his drink before placing it gently on the drink station before leaving the room.

Damon and Elena watch him before sending each other anxious side-eye glances. We quickly left the Boarding House and made our way to Elena's home. On the front porch step, I listened as she told me of the disastrous night in which Stefan had drunk from her and Klaus had killed her friend Tyler. Despite Tyler becoming a hybrid, the group had learned that only Elena's blood could turn werewolves into hybrids. As the girl cried in my arms, I suggested that she start training to defend herself against further attacks.

Two days later, Elena, Alaric, Jeremy and I had begun that training the depths of the woods. Alaric and Elena spared while I trained Jeremy. The teen had a strong idea of how to fight, his technique just needed to be perfect. A few months of smoking had caused him to become frequently winded to the point he was cursing the cigarette companies while we ran laps through the woods.

"Why are we even practicing running?" Jeremy grumbled as he jumped over a fallen log.

"Well, you'll never be able to outrun a vampire, but they do get tired. So stamina is a key factor when fighting one." I call out as I dipped underneath a tree branch.

"What are the other keys?" Jeremy asked after a moment.

"Well, Stamina," I leap over a large tree trunk. "Quick thinking, and a will to live." I send him an encouraging smile.

"Will to live?"

"Yes. Even the strongest of the supernatural can lose that will to live which can cause them to lose a battle. Never lose your will to live." I stop and turn to stare at him as he comes to a slow halt. "Everyone is destined to die, but that doesn't mean it has to be in that battle. Fight to live, hold on to whatever you can and never lose that will." He nodded his head, and I smile as he races away,

"Come on slow poke!" Jeremy tease and I smile before running full speed past him.

After a few more laps, we walk back to here Alaric was showing Elena how to use a hidden sleeve stake.

"So the pressure of your punch ejects the stakes," Alaric says while demonstrating on a mannequin.

"Easy enough," Elena says as he hands her the sleeve.

Elena sends a swift punch to the mannequin but frowns as the device fails to eject the stakes.

"That's weird." She mumbles before trying again. To her dismay, the stakes again do not move from the holster.

"Must be jammed or something." Elena shrugs.

"You're not strong enough," I say, and she whips around to give me a solemn look. "Better start lifting some weights."

"Putting some meat on your bones will help." Alaric agrees and chuckles when Elena's shoulders drop.

"Thanks for not sugar coating it," Elena grumbled.

"You may not have strength, yet," Alaric said as he reached into the duffle bag next to the mannequin. "But there are other tools you can utilize." He hands her a circular device that reminded me of a grenade. "You know what this is?"

"A vervain grenade. I've used one before." Elena smiles at a memory.

"Then you know the element of surprise is your only advantage when it comes to a vampire." Alaric nodded before pulling the pin out and tossing the grenade to her. "Surprise!"

"Oh my god!" Elena screeches and throws the ball into the air.

The water droplets cascade down on us and the three look at me wearily. A droplet touches my face, and I wait for the pain to begin but I felt nothing but the cold and wet droplets of vervain water.

"Huh. Weird." I say as I hold my arm out letting the droplets hit a larger area of skin. "Isn't this supposed to be painful to me?"

"It's supposed to." Alaric glowered and pulled out a small bottle. "Here," He tosses the bottle to me. "That is a concentrated mixture of vervain and holy water."

I open the bottle quickly and pour a small amount on my hand. "I don't feel anything," I mumble as I stare in confusion at the small bottle. I can smell the vervain, but for some reason, it was not affecting me.

"That's what she said." Jeremy laughed softly.

"This isn't a time to be joking, Jer." Elena scolded.

"Elena, it's fine. Besides, these kinds of experiments are exactly what we need. Vampires will take whatever they want. They will hurt whoever they want. And they'll do it without remorse. It's their nature." I put the cap back on the bottle and toss it back to Alaric.

"You don't have to use pronouns. You can say, Stefan." Elena fussed.

"Look, I get why you're here," Alaric stated as he began breaking down the mannequin. "Stefan hurt you. You don't want it to happen again."

"But you think I'm crazy! To believe that I can protect myself from a vampire who flipped the switch on his humanity." Elena moaned softly as she began to massage her shoulder blade.

"I think, you found a way to get out of bed this morning." Alaric turned around and gave her a soft smile. "That makes you the strongest person I know. I think that you can do pretty much anything." He tosses her a small bundle before picking up his duffle bag and making his way down the trail.

Elena unwraps the small bundle to see a silver pair of stakes attached to a leather sleeve. She looks up, and I can see the little tear droplets running down her face. She quickly brushed them away before picking up her duffle bag.

"Come on Jer. We don't want to be late for school." Elena says softly before walking down the same path Alaric had taken.

I watch the Gilbert siblings leave the woods before making my way back to the boarding house. I had been avoiding Stefan, but I know I need to talk to him. No, it wasn't Stefan I was avoiding but The Ripper instead. When Stefan turned his emotions off and became, The Ripper was an entirely different person who cared about nothing. Lexi had learned how to break that side of Stefan, and now I must do it instead. I would have to craft a trap to disarm Ripper first carefully.

I remembered Elena had talked about a bonfire happening after school. According to her, the bonfire was a yearly tradition to celebrate the first day back after summer vacation. If Elena could somehow catch Stefan off guard with even the slightest bit of emotion, we could strike and get him unconscious long enough to get him in the Salvatore cellar. The boarding house came into view when an idea popped into my head.

As I walked into the boarding house, I found the living room stained with blood and Damon in an apron scrubbing the flooring near the bar.

"Woah, who did you kill and why wasn't I invited?" I pouted.

"I didn't do this. Stefan decided he wanted to play twister with his lunch." Damon slapped the floor with his brush before looking up at me. "Where have you been?"

"Just exploring the woods as normal." I grab one of the spare brushes and dip it in the foamy water bucket by Damon.

"We have a guest staying with us," Damon whispered, and I gave him a puzzled look.

"Who?" I whisper back as I get down on my knees and start to scrub at the red stain by the loveseat.

"Her name is Rebekah, and she is Klaus' sister." Damon scrubbed harshly at the stain in front of him.

"Are her or Stefan here?" I look up towards the stairs hoping the answer would be no.

"They decided to go to school. To watch over Elena." Damon mutters.

"Oh good. I have an idea and I… I mean we need to get the steps prepared now." I whisper.

"Why are you whispering?" Damon asks while putting down his scrub brush.

"So we aren't overheard by anyone who could be outside." I roll my eyes.

"Ok. What's your plan Game Master." Damon smirks, and I toss my brush at him. He catches it quickly before sticking his tongue out at me.

"Oh real mature." I snicker at him. "I plan to get Stefan unconscious, and yes, we will need to use Elena as bait."

* * *

 **Mystic Falls High School**

"I used to know every constellation." Elena sighed heavily as she looked at the night sky. Lying on the bleachers with a bottle of Crown Royal mixed with cola, Elena listened as Stefan sighed heavily before climbing up the bleachers. "How did I forget them all."

"You're drunk. You need to go home." Stefan stated as he looked down at her from the step above.

Elena groans loudly as she lazily sits up. "Fine." She stumbles a bit as she stands up. "Uhh." She puts a hand to her head before looking around. "Let me find my car."

"You're joking, right." Stefan scoffs.

"Uh-oh." Elena hiccups as she points her finger at Stefan. "It's the fun police." She picked up the bottle and took a sip from it. "I thought that Ripper Stefan was supposed to be the life of the party." Elena taunted as she started walking up the bleachers.

"Well, all right," He mumbled. "Hey, you're going the wrong way. Uh. Fine, I'm driving you home." Stefan dragged his hand through his hair before climbing the bleachers with her. "Come on." He demanded as he tried to grab her arm.

Slapping his hand away, Elena climbed over the railing and looked down. Her back against the railing, she let her hands fall lazily against the cold metal.

"What are you, five?" Stefan shouted at her. "Get down."

"Why?" Elena looks over her shoulder at him. "Are you afraid that I'm going to…" Slipping a bit, Elena grasps onto the railing tightly. She looks up at the sky and starts to laugh hysterically. "Oh. Ha! That was close!" Elena looks back at Stefan. "Klaus would not be happy with you." She giggles slightly before hiccuping.

"You're hilarious." Stefan groans as he reaches for her.

"Look, Stefan!" Elena giggles. "No hands." Elena let's go of the railing and spreads her arms out wide. She starts to laugh, and Stefan angrily tries to grab her arm. Before Stefan could grab her, Elena screams as she falls from the bleachers.

Stefan rushes down the bleachers and catches the screaming teenager just before she hits the ground.

With a gasp, Elena looks into Stefan's eyes and touches his face gently. "I knew you'd catch me." She whispers.

He lets her down gently and opens his mouth to speak. Suddenly his face grimaces before he falls forward onto the grass. Elena looks up and smiles as Alaric places his vervain dart in the holster behind his back.

Walking towards her, Alaric gives her a soft smile. "You okay?" he asks gently before picking up Stefan.

"Yeah." Elena looks at Stefan's unconscious body and frowns. "I'm all right."

"You look, uh, not sober," Alaric grumbled as he set Stefan's body down next to his car.

"Bella's plan worked." Elena took Alaric's car keys and opened the trunk. "That's all the matters. Let's just get him out of here."

Alaric struggles for a moment, but with Elena's help, get's Stefan's body into the trunk.

I remove the binoculars from my face and turn to stare at Damon. "See, I told you it would work."

Damon glanced at me for a brief second before looking into the binoculars again. "If it did, then why is Alaric's car on fire?" Damon hissed between clenched teeth.

"What?" I look back at the scene and realize he is right. "Son of a.." I trail off as I flash in front of Alaric. He is struggling to open the car door, and Elena's panicked face is warped by a brunette girl sitting beside her. I look a bit closer and realize her body is transparent. Snarling at the ghost, I wrench open the car door and pull Elena out.

"I'm sorry Elena." The ethereal girl's voice whispers.

I glare at the ghost who looks shocked when she realizes I can see her. The spirit starts to dissipate just as Elena begins coughing harshly from the smoke inhalation. Giving her a pat on the back, I look to see Alaric emerging from the smoldering car with the unconscious Stefan in his arms.

"Move, move, move!" Alaric yells, and we rush away from the car just as it explodes.

"What are you staring at Bella?" Elena asks after she had calmed down a bit.

"There was a ghost here," I say as I nodded to the fire.

"A ghost?" Elena frowned.

"Yeah. The ghost was female and had dark brown hair that curled down her back, dark green eyes, tan…."

"Vicki." Elena sighed and touched her cheek. "Ow." She exclaimed and wrenched her hand away.

Looking closer at her cheek, I see a small red burn just under her cheekbone. "Come on, let's get some cream on the burn." I smirk at her as we begin the trek to the Salvatore's.

* * *

 _Dear Readers:_

 _I hope you are enjoying! Let me know in a review what you think or if you have a suggestion! :) 3_

 _XoXo_

 _AndriodScout_


	6. Chapter 5

**Mystic Falls**

"You have reached the hottest Salvatore brother. Leave a message. Bye!" Damon's voicemail picked up and I sighed heavily before ending the call.

"No answer?" Elena asks as I slide my phone into my jeans back pocket.

"Yep," I grumble.

"We can stop by after the celebrations." Elena nodded her head towards the podium where Carol Lockwood was wrapping up a rather long-winded speech.

"Sounds good to me. Oh hey, look," I say pointing over towards the stage, "Alaric and Jeremy are here."

"I'm going to go say hi. Will you be alright alone for a few minutes?" Elena asked warily.

"Girl, go," I say pushing her softly with a chuckle.

I watched as she walked over to Jeremy, Alaric, and a dark-haired female who Jeremy was whispering too. As soon as Elena approached, the dark-haired girl said something to Jeremy and he chuckled. Something was peculiar with the way Elena talked with them. Almost as if she couldn't see the girl. I narrowed my eyes and I felt the wind stiffen around me.

"Hey, Bella!" Caroline called out and I turned my face towards her bell-like voice.

"Hello, Care." I smiled as she pulled me into a warm embrace.

"Hey Care," I say as I turn back to stare at Elena and company. "Do you know who the dark haired girl Jeremy is talking to is?"

Caroline looked up for a brief second before looking at me with an anxious expression. "I don't see anyone with him, Bells."

I turned to look at her and then quickly looked back to Jeremy. He stood alone but he looked like he was holding hands with the air. Jeremy can see ghosts. I slammed my hand to my forehead and groaned loudly. "Fucking perfect."

"Bells?" Caroline placed an uncertain hand on my shoulder.

"Caroline, can Jeremy see ghosts?" I ask bluntly while still staring at the boy.

"Yes." I heard Bonnie Bennett whisper. I turned around and saw the pain flashing across her face as she stared at Jeremy.

"Shit. Okay." I say and I pull the two girls over to some trees near the grill. "How long has it been going on?"

"Since I brought him back from the dead. My grams warned me that there were consequences to tempting and thwarting Fate." Bonnie sighed and a few tears began rolling down her cheeks.

"Hey, it's ok. Shhh." I say as I place a comforting hand on her back. "It's okay." I looked up and Caroline and we exchanged worried glances toward Bonnie.

"I tried to send Vicki away when he told me he could see her," Bonnie confessed through short bursts of air. "But he could see Anna as well." Sitting down on the grass, Bonnie cried heavily into her hands.

"So when you did the spell to send Vicki away, it didn't get rid of Anna?" Caroline guessed as Bonnie's sobs quieted.

"I wish!" Bonnie exclaimed and looked up. Her eyes were bloodshot and her mascara had begun running down her face. "All I did was block the magic that was helping Vicki get a physical foothold here. Jeremy's still got a direct line to the other side."

"As long as he wants to see Anna and she wants to see him, she will continue to be around." I finish Bonnie's thought with a frown.

Caroline snorted and tossed her hair back. "What a di…"

"Caroline, don't," I warn her as I continue to pat Bonnie's back.

"Okay, you don't think I can actually resist commenting on that!" Caroline lifted an eyebrow at me.

"There. You commented." Bonnie said with a tight-lipped smile at her best friend.

"Bonnie…" Caroline stuttered slightly.

"What do you want me to say, Caroline? I went against the balance of nature when I brought Jeremy back to life and now I'm paying the consequences." Bonnie's lip started to quiver slightly.

"Well," Caroline bent down so she was eye level with the witch. "I want you to say you're not okay with it."

"I'm a thousand times not okay with it." The girl sighed heavily. "I just don't know what to do about it."

Sighing, Caroline sat next to her friend and placed her head on Bonnie's shoulder. "It's ok. I'm always at a loss at what to do with guys too."

I was about to say something encouraging when the loud rumble of a car stopping near us cut me off. Looking over, I noticed it was Damon and he was waving toward us. I rolled my eyes and pushed myself up off the ground. Damon hops out of the car and makes his way over to us with a large grin on his face.

"Greetings Bells, Barbie, and Witchy," Damon says as he stops in front of me. "We got a problem."

"What's going on?" I ask while folding my arms across my chest.

Damon looked down at Bonnie. "I think you got your voodoo wires all crossed when you got rid of Vicki Donovan."

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked as Caroline helped her up off the ground.

"Because I'm pretty sure I just got spit-roasted by Mason Lockwood's ghost," Damon growled angrily.

"What?" Bonnie gasped.

"And why do you think that?" Caroline demanded as she moved Bonnie closer to her.

"Maybe because he chained me to a chair and shoved a hot poker in my chest. Let's just say I'm having Deja vu." Damon snapped at the blonde.

"I thought you said that ghost couldn't physically interact with people." Caroline looked down at Bonnie who looked up at me with wide eyes.

"They can't." We both said together.

"Yeah, well, I don't have time for a vengeful Lockwood. When I kill someone, they're supposed to stay dead." Flashing forward, Damon snarled into Bonnie's face. "Whatever you screwed up, fucking fix it."

* * *

 **Mystic Grill**

After Bonnie and Caroline took off to investigate the new ghost sightings, I called Elena and asked her to join me for lunch. If the ghosts of the past were haunting Mystic Falls, then there was one ghost in particular that we needed to see. We agreed to meet around 2 in the afternoon. I was reading one of Stefan's journals when she finally arrived. I set it aside and watched as she sat down.

"Thanks for meeting me, Elena." I smile towards her.

"Yeah, no problem. I kind of feel bad for ditching you during the Illumination ceremony." She chuckled softly.

"Look, I don't want to worry you but we have a situation." I leaned forward on my elbows. "Bonnie messed up a spell and ghosts are now visible."

Elena's brown eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly.

"Bonnie is trying to reverse it but before she does, there is a ghost we both need to find. To help Stefan." I looked over my shoulder just to make sure no one was listening.

"Lexi," Elena whispered softly.

"Mhmm." I agree as the waiter comes by for our food and drink order.

After the waiter leaves, Elena immediately leans forward again. "Do you think it's even possible to contact Lexi?"

"I don't know. I have an emotional connection with her and from what Bonnie says, we should be able to find her. However, we both have to want to see each other."

"Is there another way to find her?" Elena puts a smile back on her face as the waiter brings us our drinks.

"We may have to ask Jeremy to find her," I say before taking a sip of my iced tea.

"Ok. I'll call him." Elena nodded her head and pulls out her cell phone.

Twenty minutes later, Jeremy and Alaric are both squeezing into the booth with us while being caught up to speed about the ghosts.

"I don't know. I didn't have an emotional connection with her. I never even met her." Jeremy frowned as Alaric patted his shoulder.

"Can we just drop it, please?" Alaric whispered harshly.

"What's got your boxer briefs in a twist?" I say as I give him look that clearly says he has asked a stupid question.

"No, I can't just drop it, Ric." Elena snarled as she turned a steely gaze toward him. "I don't know what else to do."

"Don't you think we have a few too many dead vampires in our past to be sitting here thinking of them watching us?" Alaric grumbled before reaching for the glass of bourbon I had ordered him.

I felt the wind shift and looked away from Alaric. When I looked at Jeremy I could see him and a girl standing beside him. Her mouth was moving but I couldn't hear what she was saying.

"Jeremy," I say and pull his attention away from the dark-haired ghost. "Is Anna here right now?" I say not daring to glare at the ghost. Why couldn't I hear her but I could see her? The girl was shaking her head violently enough that I could see it in my peripheral vision. She wants him to lie. Huh.

"No, No." Jeremy stands up. "I'm going to go, uh." He looked up and towards the back of the grill where a waiter was going through a set of doors. "Check my work schedule." With that, Jeremy leaves as Elena stares at him with narrowed eyes.

"She was here," I mumble and Elena nodded her head in agreement.

"Hey, guys." I look up to see Stefan sliding into the booth next to Elena. "Who forgot to invite me to the family summit?" He asked with a wry smile. He looks over to where his journal is resting on the table, reaches over, and grabs it. Staring down at the leathery spine he chuckles. "Hmmm." He flips through the journal rapidly. "Wow! All these words." He looks up and into my eyes. "I forgot how much I used to care."

"I didn't," Elena says as she takes a sip from her drink gingerly. I can see her hands are shaking but I fight the urge to smile at her bravado.

"You know, Elena, it probably bests that you do not torture yourself with memories from the past." Stefan reaches over to her and gingerly moves the hair away from her neck. He begins to trace her veins as her breathing becomes more labored. "It's best we both just move on and accept things as they are."

"You don't have to be here, Stefan," Alaric growls menacingly.

Moving his hand away from Elena's neck, Stefan glowers at Alaric. "You know what, Alaric, you're right. I don't." He leans forward so that he is almost nose to nose with Alaric. "But Elena's here, and I look out for Elena." He leans back and places one arm over Elena's shoulders. I watch as she tenses and her hands begin to tremble violently. "Besides, there's going to be people everywhere tonight. So there's going to be lots to eat." Stefan laughs viciously before pulling away from Elena and getting up from the table. "Kidding, I'm kidding. Loosen up." He winks before walking to the bar.

"We can't drop it, Ric." I hiss and push the man out of the booth so I can get up. I threw two $20 dollar bills on the table and walk out of the restaurant.

Walking has always been a way for me to clear my mind and lately my mind was overly stuffed. I felt like I was going to explode with emotions. I ached to be with Stefan, to truly be with him, but he has cut himself off of his humanity. That is not the Stefan I know or love. He is Ripper now and I have to find a way to change him back.

"Kick his ass." A familiar voice rang out like a bell. I twirled around so fast and looked into the blue eyes that I had been missing since her death.

"LEXI." I squealed and threw my arms around her.

Like Lexi used to do, she caught me easily and we spun around for a few seconds. "How can this happen?" Lexi asked as we released each other.

"A witch made a mistake. I'm glad she did. I…" I felt the tears rolling down my eyes as I stared at her. She looked the same, golden kissed skin, long pencil straight hair, baby blue eyes, and that wide smile that stole my breath away.

"Shhh…" Lexi moved forward and placed a gentle hand on my cheek. "I know. I know." Her eyes shined with tears and we stood there for a few moments. Just the two of us, staring at each other. Unspoken sorrow radiating from each of us. "We have to stop Ripper," Lexi stated pulling me out of my dark thoughts of her death.

"I know. I know." I took a deep breath and smiled at her. "I really fucking miss you," I say one more time before squeezing her hand.

"Remember how I used to lock him up?" Lexi reminded me as we continued walking. Ripper detox was what she started calling it in the 80's. She would chain him up and torture him until his bloodlust was under control. She had a unique ability to get into his mind and make him feel as if he had been starved for days, weeks, months, or even years. A talent I have only come across one other time.

"Yeah but I don't know where I can do that here," I said pouting.

"The old City Jail would be perfect." Lexi beams at me and I laugh brightly.

"Fair enough. How o you wanna do this?" I say softly.

"I'll get him to the jail, you prep everything, and call Elena so she can help as well."

I gave her one last hug before racing off with a large smirk on my face.

An hour later, I was finishing setting up the basement cell when I hear the doors slam upstairs. I could hear Lexi and Elena talking back and forth about how to handle Stefan when he woke up. Elena opened the cell door and I smiled at her. She waived tentatively before frowning as Lexi tossed Stefan into a chair and quickly chained him down.

"Is that really necessary?" Elena's voice quivered with concern.

"Yep," Lexi said as she made a loud popping sound at the end.

"If he gets loose, then this will all be for nothing," I say with a reassuring smile.

"Bella," Elena scowled at me before looking at Stefan. "Lexi told me somethings and I worry why you are here."

Ah. Lexi must have opened up to the girl. I throw Lexi a knowing look and before turning back to Elena.

"Elena, I'm here because I care about Stefan," I say firmly. She crosses her arms and scoffs.

"Are you sure you're not here to steal him back." She snarled nastily.

"No, actually," I say as I sigh and lean against the cell. "I and Stefan are strictly friends now. Friends that have known each other far longer than your fling, girl." I say with a wave of my hand. I can see her puff her chest in indignation but I hold a hand up towards her. "I came here because he wasn't answering his calls or texts. Like clockwork, every Saturday he called to tell me about this week. He talked about you a lot." I murmur and I see her smile softly. "So whatever insecurities you have regarding me and Stefan, lose them. He loves you more than anything." I say firmly before walking out and slamming the door.

I let my memories cloud my mind as I made my way back home. Memories of Stefan and I in the gardens in the Chateau de Versaille, him handing me the beautiful bouquet of lilies and rose before getting down on one knee. The ring that slid on my fingers so easily as we whispered solemn vows that beautiful spring day in Paris. Every stupid fight we had afterward that led to us at the top of Bear Mountain. Stefan apologizing profusely as the tears stained my cheeks before I shakily gave him the ring back. He left shortly after while I stayed on that mountain for a few months. Agonizing over my past mistakes and wishing I had fought harder for him. When I finally came down the mountain, Lexi helped me adjust and eventually, my relationship with Stefan returned but only in the context of friends. That was nearly 30 years ago. I lamented as I came to a stop in front of the Salvatore Boarding House. Maybe Elena is right. Maybe I should go.

I stare at the house before turning to the woods. I made a terrible mistake coming back here. Walking into the boarding house, I felt my heart sink as visions of Stefan and Elena came to mind. Visions of Elena dancing through the halls while Stefan chased her, the pair snuggled up next to the fire, and one where he had her pinned against the wall while kissing her.

"NO! STOP!" I screeched out loud while clutching my head. "Stop. Stop. Stop!" I felt my back hit the wall before I fainted and the world went dark.

* * *

HEY READERS!

I hope you're enjoying the story thus far. Leave me a review and let me know how you feel after finding out what happened between Stefan and Bells!

XOXO- AndroidScout


	7. Chapter 6

All in Time Part 6

"Bella?" I heard a voice, a mere whisper, next to my ear. I opened my eyes to see him: Stefan. He was standing by my bed with one hand resting on my cheek and a worried smile. A soft golden light streaming through the open windows of my bedroom gave him a halo.

"Stefan." I sighed softly and placed one of my hands on top of his.

I heard a man chuckle and frowned. That's not Stefan's voice. I look back up to see Damon smirking at me.

"Well someone had good dreams last night." He said with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Scowling I threw his hand off my cheek and groaned when I tried to sit up.

"Hey, don't push yourself," Damon said with worry in his voice.

"What happened?" I rasp out and I place my hand on my throat.

"Um. I'm not sure." Damon grumbled as he sat by me. There he goes, acting worried again. "I came home to grab some supplies and you were on the floor in front of the doorway. A small pool of blood coming from your nose."

"I had a nosebleed?!" I sounded like a squeaky toy people give to their dogs.

"Yeah. It was weird. You have been asleep for the past couple of days." Damon hands me my phone.

16 texts, 32 calls and 200 emails. Wow. I had slept for 5 days. "You couldn't wake me?" I rub my temples with a slight frustration.

"I tried. Hell, even witchy came down to see if a spell was placed on you." Damon laughs at some memory before returning to worrying about me. "Do you want me to help you get up?"

Lamenting at the idea of Damon actually being nice for a change, I nodded. Seconds later, I was cradled in Damon's arms and he was slowly lowering my legs to the ground. Once my feet hit the wood, he smiled before giving me space enough to try to walk but close enough to catch me if I fell.

"Thanks," I mumbled, uncertain of the man's attention.

"Your welcome." His cheeks flushed and he turned his head towards the door. "I'm ah. I'm gonna go make you something to eat. Holler if you need me." He was dashing off before I was able to reply.

What a weirdo, I thought as I looked down at my nearly naked body. "No wonder." I laugh before stepping shakily to the bathroom. Hopping into a steaming shower, I let my mind wander to the last moments I was awake. What had happened? I had walked through the threshold and then, nothing. It's was all a fog in my mind. After a thorough cleansing, I stepped out of the shower and made my way to the joined closet. I put on some underclothing, my favorite The Donna's purple shirt, and a pair of dark wash blue jeans. I grabbed a pair of socks and my converses before heading down to the kitchen.

The closer I got to the kitchen, the more I could smell bacon and coffee. Moaning loudly with excitement, I entered the kitchen. Damon had left me a large bowl of grits with bacon and cheese next to a cup of coffee and a note. The note said to meet him at Alaric's after school let out. I set the note aside and started eating the grits while checking my messages. Most were from Caroline and Bonnie updating me before turning to concern. I had a few text messages from Elena including one where she wrote out an essay long apology. "Bet she got bitched at by Lexi," I said with a sad smile. Oddly, there was one text message from a number I didn't recognize.

"Una bella addormentata davvero." The message read and my mind started churning. Translated from Italian, the phrase meant "a truly asleep beauty". This message was no coincidence. Whoever sent it is watching me and saw me in such a state.

"Well, looks like I have another mystery to solve." I murmur before taking the last bite of food.

I start slipping on my shoes when I hear someone laughing in the living room. I finish tying my laces and then make my way over to the voice.

A young blonde woman is speaking french into the phone rapidly. "J'ai besoin de 6 robes formelles ici immédiatement! Mes couleurs préférées sont le rouge, le bleu et le vert. Ne bousille pas ça ou je serais très énervé." She swiped her finger across the plexiglass screen before looking up at me. "Ah! You are finally awake. I need your help!" The girl speaks fast while clapping her hands excitedly.

"Uh. Who are you?" I frowned trying to place the familiar face. She looked like someone I had seen before. Who?

"Oh. I apologize, we were not formally introduced." Her crisp British accent replied with a light laugh. "I am Rebekah Mikaelson." She gleamed and I couldn't help myself from doing a double take. She was tall, with long legs and a curvaceous figure. Her long blonde hair waved slightly and came to a bouncy curl at the end. She reminded me of Rosalie Cullen a bit but she had a smile that held a bit of warmth to it.

"As in…"

"Yes, my brother is the Notorious Klaus." She said with a flash pain in her eyes.

"Oh, too bad he isn't the Notorious B.I.G," I smirk and she laughs heartily.

"Oh, to hear him rap would be a moment ripe with laughter!" She squeals as her laughter grows louder.

After a few minutes of laughing, I walked up to her with my arm stretched out. "I'm Isabella Swan."

"A pleasure." Rebekah smiles coyly before turning around and walking to Salvatore's bar. "Do you care for a drink?"

"Actually, I would. I haven't had any blood in a couple of days." I walk over to the bar and lean against the counter while Rebekah pulls out two blood bags.

"Glad to see you are not on Stefan's Bambii diet." She scoffed at the idea while handing me a glass full of the red liquid elixir of life.

"Oh hell no. I tried it once but the only thing that comes close to human in taste is a cougar or lion. Do you know how hard it is to take down giant cats? Harder than I thought it would be." I chuckle at the memory while Rebekah gives me another bright smile. I take a long drink and rest my hand on my chest as the substances begin to fill my stomach.

"I like you." Rebekah laughed and I smiled at her. She seemed nice enough but I bet if someone ruffled her feathers, she'd beat them with one of her Milano Heels.

"So, Beks, wait. Can I call you Beks?" I ask hoping that I didn't offend her.

She smiled softly, her cheeks reddening a bit before she answered. "Of course, as long as I can call you Bells."

"Deal." I say with an easy smile.

I spent the rest of my morning talking with Rebekah about life after the 20's. She had a lot of questions about women's rights and the progress of fashion. I told her about the storage container I had in Phoenix filled with my vintage clothing. I even agreed to take her there one day so she could feel all nostalgic in those old flapper dresses. My phone rang reminding me of the meeting with Alaric and Damon was ignored once or twice before I finally grumbled a quick apology and had to leave. Beks was remarkably funny and willful which I normally hated in Damon but thought were adorable traits for her. I genuinely looked forward to getting to know her better.

Soon, I was standing in Alaric's tiny one bedroom apartment staring at old cravings that Alaric and Elena had taken photos of the day earlier. Damon and Elena were practicing her fighting skills (more like Damon was trying to grab her butt and she was deflecting) while Alaric and I studied the photos.

Alaric was grumbling every few minutes and switching between collections of photos. I was cataloging every photo and looking through old rune pages on the web trying to find some matches.

Damon lunged towards Elena and she quickly dodges with a side step to the right.

"These images tell a story…" Alaric spoke softly. I glanced up at him and he looked over to Elena and Damon. "To learn the story you have to decipher these images."

"No shit. What do you think I'm doing? Pottery?" I chide while peering up from my laptop to see Alaric glowering at me.

I turn my head to watch as Elena tries to stake Damon but he effortlessly disarms her and tosses the steak down at her feet.

"Sloppy!" Damon snaps.

"Shut up! I'm new at this." Elena says as she tries again only to fail.

"'Ghost of Christmas Past' Mason Lockwood set up the cave and led us to a weapon that can kill Klaus. But you two continue with your sparring while us grown-ups try and figure it out." Alaric says snarkily while plopping back into his seat.

"But doesn't…" Elena huffed between breaths of her fistfight with Damon. " Doesn't Mikael have a weapon?"

"Yes," Damon says as he knocks her to the ground. "Which probably means that wall will lead us to Mikael, who we have already found…" Damon growls as he continues to block Elena's attacks while attempting to straddle her. "And Lost." He smiled wickedly down at Elena as he pins her to the ground and mockingly pretends to attack her neck.

I look away in disgust as Elena giggles softly. Alaric is staring at them with wide and curious eyes.

I cough softly and hear the pair moving away from each other. Eventually, the pair walks over to where Alaric is standing around the spread out pictures.

"These images at the very least might tell us what that weapon is," Alaric says while giving Elena a concerned glance.

"Then all we have to do is find out what they mean," Elena said cheerfully as she picked up one of the photos.

"Fine! Fine!" Damon groans and runs a hand down his face. "If I am being irritatingly optimistic like you three, how do you suppose we do that?"

"Well, if the story is about the Original Family living here," I noticed a malicious glint in Elena's eyes as she spoke. "Then we go straight to the source." She finishes with a Cheshire grin and a sharp heel turn towards the door.

Damon and Alaric shared a concerned look as I watched the dark-haired doppelganger walk out of the apartment. What is she up too? Why is she suddenly flirting with Damon? Suspicion coursed through me. I had not known Elena Gilbert long but she seemed to all the world an innocent girl caught up in the dramas of the supernatural. Could she, in fact, be someone I needed to keep a closer eye on? Was she dangerous? I shook my head and returned to the pictures in front of me. Frustrated and concerned that the girl wasn't all she appeared to be, I shut my laptop.

"Everything okay?" Alaric asked as he looked over at me.

"No. I… I don't know why but my gut is telling me Elena is about to do something… I don't know. Something bad." I say while staring at my hands as they wrapped around my laptop.

"Mhmm. Bad Elena." Damon moaned and I heard the sound of a sickening thud. Looking over, I noticed that Alaric had thrown a heavy metal bookend at Damon's head.

"What the hell do you think you are doing man?" Alaric growled ferociously as he came to a stand.

Damon touched the edge of his lip where the bookend had hit him. A small line of blood had started to flow and Damon smiled as he looked at the droplets on his hand. "Tsk. Tsk. Alaric, you know better than to go for my face." Damon got to his feet quickly and flashed in front of the man.

"She's a teenager, Damon." Alaric stared harshly into Damon's cold blue eyes.

"You don't think I know that?!" Damon bellowed loudly. Damon sighed and put his hand on Alaric's shoulder. "I… I get lost when I look into her eyes, Ric."

"Ugh." I groan as I start to pack my things.

"Hey, I bearing my soul here!" Damon cries out.

"Yeah, well I'd rather be pecked to death by a flock of hummingbirds than listen to you whine about Elena, who by the way, is in a relationship with Stefan. You know, your brother?" I finish packing my things and set my bag on my shoulder.

"You don't have to be such a…"

"Bitch?" I laugh while walking out of the apartment.

I did have to be that way though. I have to protect myself and those I love, like Charlie. If I am being played by either Damon or Elena, I'll be damned if it was going to continue. First thing, I need to have a little chat who knows both of them like the back of his hand. I headed straight for the Old City Jail.

Walking inside the basement, the smell of dust and rotting rat hides made me cover my nose for a brief second. I walked along the long line of cells until I came to a stop in front of Stefan's. He was lying on the small bed in the corner of the cell. One arm was slung across his face and the other laid atop his stomach. He stayed like that for a few moments before he moved his arm from his face and looked at me with reproachful eyes.

"You know," His voice croaked out. "If you all are gonna keep me locked in here for the next decade, I think we can skip the routine visits."

"You know I'm not a big champion in the whole Lexi-Recovery Plan. I told you in the 80's that it was messed up. But, Elena thinks this place is gonna weaken you up, break you down, and make you feel again." I wrap my arms around two of the cells holding bars and lean my forehead against the cool metal.

"We should all listen to Elena, right?" He sneered before sitting up. "I mean, her plans always work out so well, don't they?" He looked at me with such an intensity that I looked away from the overwhelming sense of opia. "Why are you here?" He shouted.

"I have questions that only you can answer," I mumble honestly and look down at my nails. Last week they had been a beautiful color of deep red but now the nails we chewed up and half the polish had been removed. Bad habits are truly hard to kick.

"Go away," Stefan grumbled and threw his empty water bottle at me.

"Nah," I smirk as I catch the bottle with ease. "I thought we could hang out, a little ex-fiance bonding." Stefan looked at me with a somber expression and I smiled softly. "How've you been, Stef? Huh?" I chuckle as his eye ticks in frustration.

"You know, Klaus may wanna keep Elena alive, but that doesn't mean she's safe with Rebekah." He sneered.

"What does Rebekah have to do with anything?" I frown slightly as the image of the beautiful blonde comes to mind. "It doesn't matter," I say with the shake of my head and looked at Stefan again. "Klaus compelled you to protect Elena, and if you thought for even a second that she was in danger, you would be trying to escape this cell no matter what the consequences."

Stefan's eye twitched again and he smirked sarcastically. "You got me. You got me!" He clapped his hands together playfully.

"Duh." I roll my eyes and watch as Stefan gets up. He staggers forward slightly before shuffling to the front of his cell.

"You got me. You're good." He wrapped his hands around the bars next to mine. "Congratulations!" His eyes shone with anger and thirst. "You can do now."

I lean closer to the cold metal so our noses touched. "No," I whisper softly. His face contours in anger and he wrenches away from the bars.

"It's not like I'm some broken vase that you can glue back together and then expect that everything will be ok again! It doesn't work like that!" His voice strained and broke into quiet choked sobs.

I look at him and for a few minutes, a let him sob in the still silence of the room. Reaching down to the cell's lock, I insert the key quietly before opening the heavy iron door.

"What are you doing?" Stefan asks while stumbling backward.

"Screw this Lexi-plan," I grumble before reaching down to Stefan's chained legs. I break the chains easily and look up into Stefan's eyes. "I think we both could use a drink."

With a timid smile, Stefan and I walked out of the basement and got into my car. I suggested going to a bar out of town and Stefan nodded while his eyes closed. After 30 minutes on the road only listening to Stefan's cat-like mewling snores, I stopped the car at a small bar near Rocky Mount. Stefan's eyes opened slowly as I turned off the engine.

"Where are we?" He yawned as he stretched his arms in front of him.

"A small town." I smile wryly.

We were getting out of the car when my phone began to ring and I fished it out of my jacket pocket. Elena was calling me. Rolling my eyes slightly, I answered the phone.

"Hello?" I try to sound nonchalant.

"Where is he?" She hissed into the microphone.

"Right next to me. Why?" I say while biting back a comment about her and Damon. No need to cause drama. Yet.

"Take him back to the cell!" She whispered darkly.

"I'm way too sober to deal with your attitude, Elena." I hissed in frustration at the girl's arrogance. With the flick of my finger, I ended the call and made sure to put it on vibrate.

Stefan was standing by the door of the bar looking amused at me. "Let me guess, they want you to put me back in that hole." He says as I walk over to him.

"Yep," I say as we open the door. "But I much prefer this."

The bar was dark and slightly musty but had a decent enough crowd of 12 or more folks. Some were seated in small dark red booths, eating their lunches, while 3 men and 2 women sat at the bar talking loudly, laughing, and drinking from pints of light amber ales.

"So, what are we drinking?" I move to the bar and take a seat on a green wooden stool.

: Hopefully something a little bit warmer. And a little bit blonder..." Stefan pondered as he watched the blonde buxom bartender walk over.

"Hi!" The blonde says as she flips her hair over to one side of her shoulder so we could see her name tag.

"Hello," I look at her name tag, "Callie. I would love a shot of your best whiskey, and my friend here would love," I lean in closer so she could see my eyes clearly. After a brief second, I felt the compulsions pull had been successful. "He would love a shot of you."

Stefan stared at me questioningly and I smiled darkly as the girl mutely walked over to get my drink.

"What's the catch, Bella?" Stefan asked.

"No catch. Drink up." I whisper as the girl walks back over and hands me my shot. "It's on me."

I watch as Stefan smiles darkly, grabs Callie's wrist, and bites into her soft white skin. The smell of blood was instantaneous. While Stefan drank, I walked around the bar and compelled the remaining people to stay seated and have "fun". I pushed away from the feelings of guilt and allowed myself to enjoy the rhythm of the music. Swaying softly along to the country beat as I watched Stefan. Despite pretending not to care, he was being gentle with Callie. Sure, he'd probably kill her but he was still showing restraint.

After a few minutes of watching Stefan go from body to body, I started a game of quarters with a few of the patrons. Might as well try to make their last moments somewhat fun. I was winning and had since imposed three rules: the dark-haired girl to my right had to keep her left arm behind her back, the greasy salt and pepper haired man next to me had to balance on one foot whenever it was his turn, and the older woman in front of me had to make strange animal noise with every toss she made. Stefan had joined us with Callie after a few minutes. Callie was sitting in Stefan's lap and beginning to look sickly pale due to blood loss.

Stefan flipped a coin into the glass easily and looked at me. "Oh! Drink up, Bells!"

I held up my empty whiskey bottle and looked at Callie. "Be a dear and get me another bottle." I didn't compel her but she still shook her head yes and walked off.

"You've been on this 'bunny diet' for a better part of 50 years. So how is it that 'Saint Stefan' of all people, is still better at drinking games than I or Lexi ever were." I turn towards him and he is chuckling.

"Oh, the 'bunny diet' gave me a lot of time to practice." He jokes and I hum softly.

"Wallow in despair," Stefan grumbles as he flips a coin into the glass. "Drown in guilt." His voice grows a bit steadier as he makes another coin into the glass. "Regret my existence." His voice is filled with pain and he makes another coin into the cup. "It's precision born out of tragic boredom." He looks at my glass. "Drink up, Bells."

With a roll of my eyes, I take the bottle that Callie has brought back to me and taken a hearty swig. "All that effort wasted trying to tell me how boring are?"

"Bella, you are worse than Elena or Damon." His voice is laden with scorn and I look up surprised. "Getting me drunk, bonding over blood" he gestures across the room before continuing. "What do you think, I'll break down and you can pull me back from the edge, is that it?"

"I happen to like the edge, Stefan." Fuming quietly, I stand and crack my neck to relieve some tension. "Your problem is your inability to resist falling over it. All or nothing, man." I walk up to Callie and pulled her gently off Stefan's lap. "You can't just be." Looking at Stefan, I knew how close his dark passenger, The Ripper, was to come out. I decided in that moment, risk everything and these people's lives. "Although, who am I to judge," I say shoving the girl back into his arms, grabbing the coin from his hand, and flipping that coin into his cup. "Drink up, Steffie."

Moments turned into seconds and soon became hours. Stefan had killed 9 patrons but Callie was still alive, albeit a tottering mess when Stefan let her off his lap. I could see the light had dimmed outside. A woman had stumbled into the bar a little while ago and I had compelled her to forget and leave. Currently, I was sitting at the bar and gesturing for the bartender to give me another drink when Stefan sat down next to me.

"Alright! Tell me what's up." Stefan had clearly had enough 'fun'. "What's the point of the jailbreak, hmm?" He asked while wiping some blood from the corner of his mouth.

"I thought you could use a hug," I responded dryly before taking another sip of the whiskey.

"Come on, Bella. You know Elena is gonna hate you for letting me out." Stefan held up a finger and the bartender brought over a beer for him.

"Maybe, but I don't care what she thinks. All she does is flirt with Damon lately anyway." The last bit I mumbled so quietly that Stefan must not have heard it. "Or maybe," I continued and turned my head to look at him. "Maybe I wanted to remind you what freedom was like before Klaus took that from you."

"As long as Klaus is alive, I do what he says." Stefan stubbornly whispers and takes a drink of the beer.

"That's my point, Stefan. You've given up!" I yell but he rolls his eyes. "Now you could sit around and be his little bitch," I hiss and he glares at me. "Or you can get mad enough and do something about it."

"Maybe I can help with that." An unfamiliar voice boomed from the doorway. We both turned around to look at a blonde middle-aged man who was gazing around the room unphased. "Stefan Salvatore and Isabella Swan, I presume?" His voice is a low baritone with a British accent.

Stefan's breath hitched and his eyes were wide as saucers as he looked at the man. "Mikael." Stefan's voice trembled and for a brief second, I felt fear.

"Is Klaus out of the country?" Mikael demands, making no time for small talk.

"I can't tell you." Stefan glares at the man.

"Has he spoken to you since he left." Mikael grabbed an apple off one of the tables and bit into the plumb fruit.

"I can't tell you." Stefan murmurs through clenched teeth.

"All right. Can you tell me the last time you spoke to Niklaus?"

Why does this conversation feel like an interrogation, I thought while watching as Mikael circled around Stefan in a predatory manner.

"I'm compelled to do what he says, and he says to keep my damn mouth shut." Stefan quips.

"I really hope this game of twenty questions isn't your secret weapon," I say with a roll of my eyes.

Mikael moves forward and lays a hand on my shoulder. "You see, Isabella," He whispered my name softly. "I've been a vampire hunter longer than you've been alive. It is why I found you here and it is why I am going to find Niklaus." I noticed that when he said Niklaus, his eyes glinted evilly.

"Well, Klaus has been running for a thousand years, so if you think you can get a work around here…." Mikael interrupts my sarcastic commentary by hitting my chest. I look up at the man who seems perplexed for a moment. "We that was hella rude."

"How…." His eyebrows furrow in confusion and his eyes zero in on a small scar I had on my wrist. "A cold one bite?" He asked in surprise and I covered my wrist with my other hand.

"Yes. What of it." I grumble and dismiss the concerned look on Stefan's face.

Frowning, Mikael looked at me with sonder eyes as if to silently apologize for what I must have endured. I nodded and walked back to the bar to grab myself a drink. Before I even reached the chair, I felt a burning sensation and looked down in horror at the fire spread from feet to my legs. Above my screams, I could hear Mikael and Stefan.

"Careful, Stefan. One move- and this accelerant will finish her into a fine white powder." The man sneered. "Where is Klaus?" He bellowed.

"His emotions," I gasp out in pain, "have been cut off. He can't care." I groan and scream as the fire moves up to my thighs.

"Really?" Mikael mused. "Is this link to Klaus so strong that he will let his best friend and former lover die?" Mikael leans down and caresses my face with a sickeningly sweet smile. "Think Stefan!" I look up enough to see Stefan holding his head in his hand. Terror flashing across his face as he realizes this man will kill me. "I guess you're right." Mikael chuckles darkly. "He's a dead end and so is you, Isabella." Mikael lights another match and slowly brings it closer to my face.

"Wait!" Stefan shouts and Mikael stops. "I can bring him back. I can lure Klaus back to Mystic Falls." Stefan is panting and the fire has reached my midsection. The world around me is becoming darker and darker. Their voices beginning to sound further and further away.

Suddenly the heat of the fire vanishes as cool water is doused over me. My vision is blurry but I can see Mikael, holding a pitcher and smiling victoriously.

"And there is our loophole. Just had to rile him up a bit." The man sends me a wink and I stare at him in disbelief. "Get Klaus back to Mystic Falls, and I will gladly drive a stake through his heart. Fail, I'll drive it through yours. With that last threat, Mikael vanishes from the bar and Stefan sinks to the floor.

I looked down at my legs, happy to see that I was healing already. I let out a small whimper as I tried to sit up. My legs were stinging and I couldn't help but wish I had some aloe vera. My whimper made Stefan look up and move towards me.

"Bella, I am so sorry." He cried as he pulled me into a brief hug.

"I give him ten points for flair and creativity." Snickering, I attempt to stand up. I can stand thankfully but as I walk, I realize I am limping instead.

"At least now I know where Klaus and Elijah learned their tricks from," Stefan grumbled as he held the bar doors open for me.

"Don't think you had to wait till the last second to have your breakthrough, though." I groan as a sharp stabbing feeling shoots up my leg.

"I didn't have a breakthrough, Bella." Stefan picked me up gently and began walking towards the car.

Cradled in his arms, I fought the urge to sleep and instead stuck my tongue out and blew him a raspberry. "Ooooo, ooooo, Bella is about to die," I mock as I act like I am crying. "I just had to save her for the millionth time!" Stefan's lips twitch fighting off an amused grin. "Careful Stefan, your humanity is showing."

"So you know what?" Stefan says as he opens the door and gingerly places me in the passenger seat. "You're right, Bells. You're right." He nodded as if agreeing with himself. "You reminded me what my freedom felt like. And when we kill Klaus, I'll be free." He tugs at the seat belt and buckles me in. "Free to leave." He stares into my eyes and I can see wave after wave of emotion crashing into him. Stefan was always an open book that I could read. "See, I didn't do this for you, Bella." He caressed my cheek where the fire had almost burned me. "I did it for myself." He whispers before getting up and shutting the car door.

A few seconds later, he climbs into the front seat and cranks on the engine.

"Sure, Stefan. Whatever you say." I say quietly as his hand finds mine and gives me a gentle squeeze.

"I still don't know why you are doing this," Stefan mumbled as he released my hand and put his head on the steering wheel. "What do you want from me, Bella?" He turns to look at me with pain in his eyes. "Why is everybody trying to save me?" A single tear falls down his cheek.

Reaching up to wipe away his tear, I found myself answering him honestly. "Because I have to, Stefan. Because before you were in this mess with Klaus, Elena, and Damon, you saved my life. Because I owe you. Because I love you more than anyone else. I'd die for you, kill for you, watch you fall in love with someone else." Stefan looked away in shame.

"You know what a friend of mine told me before coming to Mystic Falls in search of you?" Stefan shakes his head and I sigh softly and look out the window. "She said 'If someone won't lift a finger to call you, see you, and spend time with you, then it is time for you to lift 5 fingers and wave goodbye."

Stefan sighed. "Bella, I…"

"I nearly died in Forks, Stefan, and I nearly died tonight." I let my pain seep into my voice. No hiding, no pretending, but bare it all out so he could hear how it affected me. "You stood there and watched. Mikael wasn't even compelling you but you wouldn't save me. Not until the very end."

"I'm so sorry…" His voice was sorrowful but I cut him off.

"No. When we get back to Mystic Falls, I'm leaving, Stefan."


	8. Chapter 7

All in Time Part 7

Despite wanting to leave as soon as I walked across the threshold of the Salvatore Boarding House, Damon and Elena had given me a reason to stay. The vampire and doppelganger had devised a plan to fool Klaus into coming back and unsurprisingly, Stefan jumped at the opportunity. Even Elena's friends had decided to assist in what I considered a suicide mission. What's more surprising is Rebekah's willingness to help group kill her brother.

"How could you want this?" I had asked her while dragging her into my bedroom when I saw her a few days later.

"You don't know what he has done to me. Forget locking me up in a casket for decades: he murdered our mother." The blonde vampire cried out in anger before sitting on my bed.

"How do you know that?" I ask while trying to mask my shock from her outrage.

"Elena told me." Rebekah choked out before letting herself sob into one of my pillows.

"And you believe her?" She didn't answer my question out loud, but she nodded her head. I moved towards her and laid a gentle hand on her back. "Well, I guess this does make things complicated."

We spent the night consoling each other, watching corny dramas, and discussing how we could each conquer the world. We fell asleep in my room, but the next morning, I awoke to Damon sitting at the edge of my bed and Rebekah gone.

Damon's frequent visits to my room were starting to grate my nerves. For the first time since arriving, I let my annoyance be visible on my face. I kicked him off my bed and snarled up at him with my teeth bared. "GET OUT!" I bellowed.

Damon let out a scoff and a roll of his eyes. "Now now, Ms. Temper, I come bearing good news!" He grabbed my foot from under the covers and yanked me down closer to him. The blanket flew away leaving me exposed to him. Luckily I had enough sense to wear a black lace night camisole, but it didn't bequeath much to the imagination.

"Let go and leave." I hissed while flailing about trying to loosen his grip. Instead of letting go, he began to massage my foot, and I decided desperately not to relax under his ministrations.

"You don't want me too." He whispered while massaging the ball of my foot.

I have never once felt attraction for the dark haired vampire, but his voice sounded alluring. I felt my head roll back and heard myself sigh. Shaking my head, I looked back up at him and attempted to glower. "Yes, I do." My voice sounds far away and quiet.

I noticed for the first time that Damon wasn't wearing a shirt. The pale light of day behind him gave a soft glow around Damon's edges. I found myself staring at his stomach where rippling lines of muscle glimmered slightly as if he had stepped out of a shower recently.

"Like what you see?" Damon chuckled mischievously, and his hand started to move up my calf. A wave of intense temptation hit me, and I tried not to blush furiously.

"Damon?" I hear the faint sound of Elena's voice calling from downstairs, and I look back at him. He seemed to stiffen at her voice, and his hand disappeared from my leg.

"See you later, Swan." Damon left with a wink, and I waited until the door shut before moving.

Confused and slightly unnerved by what had just happened, I tumbled off the bed and made my way into the bathroom. I took a quick cold shower and shook away the thoughts of Damon and his hands.

As I was slipping on a pair of skinny jeans, I hear Damon yelling at Elena. I throw on a green v-neck short sleeve shirt and grab a pair of brown leather boots. I make my way towards the hallway when I hear Stefan's voice. I pause and listen as the trio begins to talk about tonight's plans.

"Never your mind, brother. The less you know, the better." Damon says.

"My freedom from Klaus rests entirely upon you two executing your plan perfectly," Stefan says sternly. Why was he so arrogant about this? They have been talking and planning for almost a week. "So, excuse me if I'm cynical."

"You're the one that we should be worried about." Elena's voice is soft but accusatory. "If Klaus asks you one wrong question- the whole thing falls apart."

I hear Stefan scoff and take a deep breath. "You do have reason to worry, but if I look back in our history of epic plan failures, it's usually because one of us let our humanity get in the way. Upon taking odds on how this thing goes down, it's certainly not going to be me who screws it up. I'll see you at Homecoming. I can't wait." Stefan ended his rant with walking out of the house.

I frowned and thought about the last time he acted so rudely. Something was amiss. I quietly went back to my room and sent Rebekah a message to be wary of Stefan tonight. I looked out the large window and frowned as I watched Stefan walking into the forest. As much as I love him, he was acting stranger than usual. I walked back downstairs, surprised to find it empty and walked outside.

My phone chirped, and I pulled it out to look at a message from Rebekah. She would be heading over shortly to get ready for the Homecoming dance and wanted help with her hair. I let her know I would be home and happy to help. I sighed heavily before turning back inside only to stop at the sight of Elena. Her hair was curling down her back wildly, and she looked bored. She was wearing a black leather jacket, a blood red shirt that had studs running along the collar, ripped black jeans, and an impressive pair of black knee-length heeled boots. She stopped as her eyes found me and the edge of her bright red lips lifted slightly in a smirk. That smirk and that curling hair made my blood run cold as I recognized Katherine Pierce immediately.

"Hey, Bella!" Katherine's voice wasn't her typical rasp, and I frowned.

"Elena?" I asked, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was standing in front of Katherine.

"Duh. Who'd ya think it was?" She laughed and smiled at me.

"Uh huh." I just stated as I continued to stare at her. Before I could say anything, Damon walked down the stairs and paused.

"Elena, shouldn't you be getting ready?" He gave Elena/Katherine a pointed look, and she sighed.

"Your right. Nice seeing you again Bella." The doppelganger smiled and walked from the room.

I waited a long minute after she left before whispering to Damon. "Is that K…"

"Shhhhhh." Damon put his fingers to his lips and nodded softly.

I blinked in surprise and gave him an incredulous look. Before I could ask him something, he was shaking his head. I sighed, turned around, and walked out of the house. Damon was officially the biggest idiot I had ever met.

I sent Rebekah a text message letting her know we should meet at the school so I could do her hair. When she questioned why I didn't want to go to the boarding house, I merely told her I didn't want to be in the same room as Damon. She sent me back a few emojis to let me know she completely understood. We agreed to meet in 45 minutes, and I began the walk towards the school.

When I finally made it to the school 15 minutes later, I found the police, water department, a few townsfolks, and Caroline Forbes standing around. Caroline's face was flushed slightly as she spoke hotly to Tyler Lockwood nearby. I made my way to her quickly, dodging around the few townsfolk in between us.

"Hey, Caroline." I smile as I approached her. She didn't smile back.

"UGH! Bella this is a nightmare!" Caroline exclaimed as she waved a hand up in the air.

"What happened?" I look towards the school and notice the Fire Department had also shown up. "Was there a fire?"

"The gym is flooded," Tyler answered with a heavy sigh while patting Caroline's back comfortingly.

"What?" I look over at Caroline who is shaking her head up in down sadly.

"Dance is canceled as well." Tyler shrugged his shoulders and Caroline's head whipped up.

"Excuse me?" She hissed viciously. Tyler took a step back, and his lips formed a thin line.

"Caroline, the school is flooded. We can't have the dance here." Tyler moved his hands frantically as he gestured to the school.

"What are we supposed to do now then!?" Caroline's voice rose a few decibels and bystanders started looking over at us curiously.

"Um. Is there any place that the dance could be relocated to?" I suggested trying to help.

Tyler's eyes lit up, and he gave a mischievous smile. "We can have it at my house." Tyler offered while placing his hand on Caroline's shoulder.

"Are you sure?" Caroline looked up at Tyler, and he nodded eagerly. "Ok. Send a school-wide text. I'm gonna call, Elena."

"No problem, babe." Tyler gave Caroline a quick kiss on the cheek before running off to his car.

Caroline watched him go before walking away as well. I watch her get into her car and speed away. "Bye to you too," I mumble quietly before turning around and walking back towards the Boarding House.

As I start walking back towards the Salvatore home, I sent Rebekah a text letting her know the dance was being held at Tyler's and to wait for me at the boarding house. The walk was quiet despite the sounds of sirens in the distance. I thought about what cities I wanted to move to since I was determined to leave Mystic Falls behind along with the Salvatore brothers. I could move back to Atlanta, GA. I often visited the large city, and I even rented my house, a red brick bungalow, out on occasion. The house was sitting empty at the moment so an ideal option. I also had a home in London, but that house is occupied by a group of University students. My property in Texas was still under renovations. With eternal age came the ability to travel the world. I had been nearly everywhere. I sighed and scratched my head at my distracting thoughts as I approached the Boarding House. I stopped walking as I noticed Matt escorting Elena/Katherine from the house.

"Wow! Look at you two!" I exclaim as I look at the pair. Matt smiled widely as he noticed me.

"Bella, hey are you going to the dance?" Matt asked enthusiastically. Elena/Katherine looked down at her nails and scrutinized them.

"Yes but I'm waiting for Rebekah. I'm going to do her hair, and then I and she will meet you there." I take a few steps towards the front door when I notice Matt blanch slightly.

"Oh. You don't know." Matt paused for a second. "She was supposed to be my date, but Elena is filing in since Rebekah left."

"What?" I give them a confused glance, and Elena/Katherine shrugged.

"She was rambling about Klaus and betrayal before disappearing. While I was in mid-sentence by the way." Elena/Katherine rolled her eyes at the last comment before touching Matt's arm.

"We don't want to be any later. Caroline is going to jump down our throats enough tonight."

Matt chuckled before the pair said goodbye and climbed into his truck. I was still confused about Rebekah's disappearance. I tried calling her as I walked inside but the line went straight to voicemail. "Hey, Beks. Where did you go? We were supposed to get stupidly wasted and dance our asses off at the Dance. Call me and let me know you're ok at least." I disconnected the call and slumped into the chair near the door, so my back was slight to the hallway. The chair was, in particular, my favorite seat because of its thick cushioned backing and anyone coming in had to turn to see you there.

I sat in silence for a few minutes before I heard feet moving down the stairs. I turned and noticed Damon. I waved my hand in acknowledgment, and he grinned impishly.

"Well if it isn't Hell's Bells."

"And if it isn't Devilish Damon." I laugh dryly.

"You should have said, Dashing Damon." He criticized and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"You should be dashing but your just an ass." I quip, and his arm smacks across his chest in mock pain.

"Be still my undead heart!" Damon cries out before heading over to the bar. He had grabbed a bottle of wine that had been mixed with blood and poured himself a glass. The faint sound of air swooshing made me turn my head towards the hallway. A man with dark blonde hair and a fierce from was gliding to through the room. He stopped as he noticed Damon first and then looked over his shoulder at me with a raised eyebrow glance. When the man turned his face towards me, I realized that it was Mikael. I sent him a gentle nod and returned my gaze to Damon.

"Did my daughter go to the dance?" Mikael asked as he continued his slow march towards the elder Salvatore.

I noticed Damon's left eye twitch slightly before he smiled. "Yep, you missed the photo op. Did you get the stake?"

What? I glared at Damon and noticed he was avoiding my gaze.

"I did." Mikael had replied while I stared at Damon. Mikael had made his way to Damon, and the pair stood by the fireplace. The light is growing eerily around the two plotting vampires.

"I'm not gonna take your word for it." Damon took a sip from his drink. "No offense to your honor and all…" He mumbled after seeing the sinister look in Mikael's eyes.

"None took." Mikael smiled a brilliant yet threatening smile. He put his hand on his jacket and a moment later, pulls out a white oak stake. The stake had an intricate cross stitch design, and the handle looked similar to a dragons head.

"Fancy. May I?" Damon asked eagerly.

"It's the only weapon on this earth that can kill an original." Mikael paused as he looked longingly at stake. "So I think I'll hold on to it. No offense."

Damon snorted sarcastically before gesturing to the bar. "I'd offer you a drink, but Katherine tells me you're more of a "vampire on the rocks" kind of guy."

"Technically, you could still offer." I chided before looking at Mikael. "We don't have vampire blood on tap, but would you care for a glass of scotch?"

Mikael was about to answer before Damon interrupted. "Why feed on vampires? Don't tell me it's the smooth aftertaste." Damon questions before he sat down in the armchair adjacent to the fire.

"I had a hand in creating vampires, but bloodlust was never my intention." Mikael's voice was calm, but I could hear the authority in his voice. He was a man who commanded people's attention with only his voice. He didn't appear overtly hostile but he was, and he used powers of persuasion to assist in his dominance. "Over the centuries I learned to feed on the predator, not the innocent." Mikael leveled his gaze at Damon, but the later did not cower; he only sheepishly grinned back.

The front door swung open, and we all waited quietly for whomever it was to walk into the room. Stefan emerged from the hallway. His eyes darted between Damon and Mikael and then me and Damon in confusion.

"Welcome to the Anti-Klaus meeting Stefan." I smile slightly, and he gives me a reproaching glance before walking up to Mikael.

"Change of plans. Klaus is back." Stefan announced. "He is at the Lockwood's, and he wants your body delivered to his doorstep." Stefan frowned, but Mikael chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder.

"I'm afraid he is in for a colossal disappointment." Mikael continues to giggle a bit before returning to his neutral stance.

"Well, he's certainly not gonna come here. I hope your plan didn't depend on that?" Stefan tilted his head thoughtfully to Damon.

Huh. So Damon kept Stefan and me in the dark. I frowned slightly as my anxious thoughts began to bubble forward. Didn't he trust me? He indeed believed me enough to flirt with me and to have me watch over Elena. But I wasn't his friend. I'm no one's friend here. Even Stefan was more of an awkward acquaintance now.

"Didn't depend on that." I heard Damon get up from his chair.

"But you do have a plan, right?" Stefan's voice held a note of desperation.

"Oh yeah. We have a plan, right." I looked up to see Damon staring at Mikael before returning his gaze to Stefan. "Just doesn't involve you."

The next instant was like a blur, but I could see Mikael jumping on top of Stefan. I saw the blood after Stefan's body collapsed to the floor. Mikael had fed on him, ravaging his neck, and was now wiping his mouth with a small napkin.

"You couldn't just break his neck?" Damon mused while watching the blood pool around Stefan's face.

"Well, that certainly occurred to me." Mikael grinned mischievously before walking out of the boarding house.

"Damon…" I can feel my arms shaking and felt the anger rising in my chest.

"Bella, don't." Damon looked up, and I noticed his eyes are filled with determination. "Stefan needs a bit in timeout anyway."

"Damon, you just let Mikael feed on Stefan! You didn't stop him or even try!" I tried my best not to yell, but my voice still rose an octave.

"What was I supposed to do? In the space of 1/10th of a second, Mikael could kill us. Stefan will live." Damon grabbed his jacket off the coat rack and his bag from the closet. "Stay here, Bella. Don't leave the house and when Stefan wakes up," Damon walked over to his brother, looked down, and ran his hand through his hair frantically. "Tell him I'm sorry." With that Damon left and I was sitting in silence once again.

Sighing, I walked over to Stefan's body and picked him up gently. I laid him down on the couch and began to clean the blood off the wood floor. I grabbed the mop and mop bucket. I filled the bucket with a mixture of vinegar, dish soap, and warm water. I was almost done when I felt the wind shift slightly and heard Stefan gasp slightly. I moved to take a look at him when the sound of the door swinging open caught me by surprise. I stumbled slightly and fell behind the Loveseat while the broom had lulled underneath it. I struggled to grab the handle of the mop from under the loveseat when I heard the clack of high heels. I looked from underneath the loveseat and saw Elena/Katherine staring down at Stefan.

"Stefan!" The woman exclaimed, and I saw her bend towards him. She probably saw the blood and freaked a bit.

"Elena?" Stefan's voice croaked out.

"Not exactly." Katherine sighed, and I heard something hit the edge of one of the cushions. "Pep up! I only got a minute before they realize I'm not at the party." Katherine's foot started to tap impatiently. "If Klaus gets killed he is taking Damon down with him."

I put a hand over my mouth to stifle a gasp, but Stefan had begun talking. "So pull the plug on the plan." His voice sounded strong. She must have given him a blood bag.

"And face the wrath of Mikael?" Katherine scoffed. "We'll all be dead! Ok, look. I know that you've turned off your humanity and that you don't care, so there's only one solution."

I heard Stefan chuckle darkly. " What's that?" He asked, and I heard him began to slurp on the blood bag.

I watched as Katherine walked towards the edge of the sofa as if she was going to walk down the hallway. "Care, Stefan." Her voice sounded like a whisper and for once, I heard the emotion in the woman's voice. "Care enough to save Damon's life. Because I am going back to that party and I'm seeing this plan through." Her voice did not waiver and seemed to intensify as she continued her speech. "Klaus will be killed. We'll have our freedom. But then Damon will be dead. Your brother will be dead, Stefan." She had turned to face him as she pointedly finished the last statement. "Unless you care enough to do something about it." With a flourish of air, Katherine disappeared.

Stefan took a deep breath before standing up. "Bella, you can stop hiding now."

I frowned and crawled out from under the Loveseat. I looked up at Stefan, and his eyes were soft. "Stefan…" My heart started to beat rapidly.

"Bella, I'm about to do something that will make you hate me." He looked down at me, and I saw his green eyes begin to gloss over with tears. "I will always love you, Bella." Stefan smiled softly and then came rushing forward. His hand cradled my cheek as tears began to slip down my face. "No matter how long I am alive, Bella. My eyes will always search yours out. My heart will always clench at the thought that I have hurt you. I'm so sorry in countless ways." He kissed my forehead gently. "I know leaving won't be the best way to solve this. Saying goodbye is the most painful way to solve a problem, but I have to do this."

As Stefan went to step back, I grabbed his shirt and held him in front of me. I looked up into those emerald eyes filled with misery. "I love you, and I only want you to be happy. Do what you need to do." I leaned up and kissed him gently. Before our kiss could deepen, I withdrew and walked away from him. I had made it to my bedroom before I heard the front door open and a sobbing Stefan left.

 _Again._

Aggravated, I found myself dialing Rebekah's number. Through my heavy sobs, I heard Rebekah's specialized ringtone quietly beckoning from downstairs. We had designed the ringtone by singing the Sailor Moon theme song after we had binge-watched during our first sleepover party. Our drunken singing was her ringtone for me only and vice versa. I found myself flying down the stairs and pressing my hand to my ear. The sound was coming from the basement. The smell of dead flesh was beginning to creep through the hall and oddly the smell of a human was present: the smell of Elena. It was lingering but present.

I walked tentatively down the basement steps and the music grew louder. I found myself in front of one of the cellar doors. I pushed it open and cried out. Rebekah was lying on her stomach, a dagger protruding from her back, and her skin had become a morbid grey. She was clothed in a beautiful almost knee length silk red dress with ruffles. Her hair was curled into ringlets and a small diamond crescent hairpin was pinned near her right temple.

Elena must have daggered her before Katherine had arrived to take the blonde's place with Matt. Elena's scent was the only one present and I felt the white-hot rage for the human doppelganger intensify. She stabbed Rebekah in the back, literally. She couldn't face Rebekah so she chooses a cowards way. I cursed loudly before looking back down at my friend. What was I going to do? I could undagger her but Rebekah would kill Elena for this. Hell, I would too. Shaking my head, I knelt down next to her and took the handle of the dagger. I lifted the blade out gently before cradling the original vampire in my arms. Elena had made her grave and she would lie in it soon.

I got her in the backseat of my car before taking out my cell phone. I dialed the phone number Rebekah had given me in case emergency. A few seconds passed before I heard him answer. "Who is this?" Klaus snarled angrily into the phone.

"First of all, that attitude is precisely why I had second thoughts about calling you but Rebekah needs your help." I quipped.

"What has happened to Rebekah?" Klaus' voice growled dangerously.

"Well, your dopplebitch daggered her in the back." I felt the anger rising again in my chest.

"Elena did?" Klaus sounded genuinely surprised.

"Yes. Text me your address and I will bring Rebekah to you." I turned the ignition and the car roared to life. My phone binged and I took it away from my ear to see the address in a message from Klaus.

"It's done." Klaus' voice came from the speaker.

"Ok. I'll be there in ten minutes." I flick the end call button and loaded the address into the GPS.

When I arrived, Klaus was standing outside tapping his foot. His dirty blonde hair was disheveled as was his dress shirt and black slacks. Cleary his evening had been a bit rocky. His eyes grew wide with shock as he noticed me in the car. Once I stopped and turned off the engine, I stepped outside and walked over to him.

"You are…" Klaus began to stutter a bit.

"Yes, I'm the crazy woman from the bar in Chicago. My name is Bella Swan." I thrust my hand forward and he glares at me.

"You are in cahoots with the Salvatores." Klaus accused and slapped my hand away.

"Actually, they mainly kept me in the dark. I had come here to find Stefan whom you had under compulsion." I reminded.

"And what is Stefan to you?" Klaus' eyes narrowed.

"Stefan was not my maker but he did help me adjust as did our friend, Lexi." I shrugged. "Rebekah's in the back seat."

Klaus rushes forward and opens the door to the car. He looks down at Rebekah's body and sighs heavily. "My poor sister. I can't turn my back on her for a moment."

"You should know, Elena was the one who daggered her. I could smell the human's stench all over the basement where I found Rebekah." I heard myself hiss.

"What do you want from me in exchange for Rebekah?" Klaus whirled around and I looked at him dumbly.

"Excuse me?" I was confused by his line of thinking.

"You brought her here to bargain for something. Go ahead and ask your request." Klaus' eyes were hard and filled with determination.

I chuckled slightly and smiled. "I do not want anything from you. Rebekah did not deserve to be stabbed in the back like that. I'm leaving. The Salvatore brothers are both pains and the ass. You don't want to know how I feel about Elena right now." My thoughts turned dark as the image of Elena daggering Rebekah came to mind.

"Is this a joke?" Klaus again asked incredulously.

"No." I sent Klaus another smile. "Goodbye, Klaus. Please apologize to Rebekah that I was unable to stay." I sent him another smile before racing away as fast as I could.

 ** _Note from Author:_**

 ** _Hi everyone! I hope you are enjoying the story so far. \o/ Leave me a comment about what you think is going to happen know that Elena can't bargain Rebekah for Jeremy!_**

 ** _XOXO_**


	9. Update

**Hello Lovely Readers!**

 **I apologize but my stories are on pause for the moment. I have a lot of responsibilities at work with my new promotion but I am still writing on the weekends during my free time. I will have multiple chapters uploaded in May '18. So please don't fret! Also, I am starting a youtube channel within the next few months and I will list it for everyone when that time arrives. :) My friend and I will be doing a Sailor Moon Abridged series as our first show so if you have any ideas, please let me know! :)**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **AndroidScout21 3**


	10. Chapter 8

_My Dear Readers,_

 _I finished this chapter relatively early so I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know what you think!_

 _XoXo- AndroidScout_

* * *

 _ **Dear Ms. Swan,**_

 _ **Please join the Mikaelson Family, this evening at seven o'clock for dancing, cocktails, and celebration.**_

I sigh softly as I looked at the card once again. The warm Georgia air rustled my hair and I pushed the loose strands away from my eyes. I look past the rosebush towards the woods where the faint smell of a vampire's trail still lingered. Seems Mystic Falls was calling me back for a visit. After more than 6 weeks away, Klaus had finally found me. Despite telling him that I wanted nothing for returning Rebekah, the lunatic was constantly sending me text messages with updates about Mystic Falls and offering to help me should I ever need it. Even now, I still had 3 pending messages from him. I shook my head gently and smiled at the writing on the back of the card.

 _ **Save me a dance - Klaus.**_

"Hey Bells!"

The sound of Lia's voice echoed through the corridor of the house to the back porch where I sat in my rocker.

"I'm out here." I holler over my shoulder while swiftly putting the invitation back in the card.

"Ah!" Lia's gasps as she walks outside. Her dark skin glistened slightly with the sheen of sweat. "It's unseasonably hot today, don't ya think?" She began to fan herself gently with the papers she held in her hand. Her curling brown hair waved lightly at the man-made breeze.

"Yes, it is. What have you got there?" I ask and point towards the papers.

"Oh! Just some designs for your new house. Here, please take a look and tell me what you think!" Lia handed over the paperwork and I gently took them.

Looking through the design sheets and plans, I was again grateful that I had found Lia. She was a talented architect and home builder. The design she had out for me was a more modern approach but as we were renovating a house, she was still using and adapting some of the existing structure into the remodel. I had the fortune of buying a Victorian style home in Charleston, South Carolina during my visit there 2 weeks ago. I contacted Lia, as I have her on personal retainer, and we have been finalizing plans ever since.

"I thought we could keep the crown molding as it adds value to the home but also is remarkably still intact!" Lia smiled as I reached the page regarding the walls and ceilings.

"I love the idea you have here, especially keeping the gothic exterior. I think I am looking forward to that most!" I hand her back the papers and smile brilliantly up at her. "What's the total cost?"

"We are looking at a $500,000 renovation." Lia's smile didn't damper. Money was not an issue thanks to the sound investments I had made since the early 50's. Although, she simply thought I had inherited my fortune.

"Splendid! I will go ahead and transfer the deposit over to you and then we can begin the project." Lia shifted the papers a bit before looking back down at me. "Bella, thank you again for taking me on as your consultant. I really approve…"

"Lia, you are talented and young." I cut her off gently with a smile. "Those idiots at Calhoun and Hinds didn't deserve you. Using you as some kind of assistant. Pfft. You let me know if you ever need anything, ok?" I placed a hand gently on her forearm.

Lia sighed contently before perking back up with another beaming smile. "I'll have the contractors start ordering supplies starting tomorrow. We can meet back up next week if you'd like to go over some more details."

"Absolutely. I may be stuck in Virginia for a few days so we may need to meet in the middle but I will keep you updated." I stand up and shake her hand.

"Great! Well, I have to get back to the new office to oversee the renovations there. Do you want me to send pictures once it's completed on Friday?" Lia asks as I guide her through my small bungalow.

"Of course!" I chuckle softly and pause once we get to the front door. "How is your new apartment by the way? Are you glad to be rid of roommates?"

"I cannot thank you enough for recommending it! It's beautiful and in the heart of midtown! Plus with the security officers always on site, I feel really safe!" Lia kissed my cheek before walking outside. "Again, thank you."

"You deserved it. Call me later if any plans change."

I watch as Lia drives away before shutting the door. I take out the envelope once more before sighing. I might as well start preparing for the "ball". "How old-fashioned." I chuckle once more before walking towards my room.

After a quick shower, I change into a pair of blue jeans and a green v-neck shirt before I walk to the back of my closet where I keep all of the ball gowns. I normally add one a year so in case of emergencies, I have options. Remembering the last one I picked a few months ago, I shuffled through the dresses until I found it. Still, in the garment bag and as gorgeous as ever, I examined the dress once again. It was a solid black dress made of tulle and silk. It had a plunging neckline and an open back but what won me over was the pockets. The pockets were hidden between the ruffles of the tulle and silk. I remember how I had yelped in excitement when I found the pockets.

I laid the ball gown on my bed and began to work on my makeup. I had just put the finishing touches on my eyes when I heard my phone begin to ring. Sighing, I laid the eyeliner down on the counter and picked up my phone. Elena's name flashed across the screen. I ignored the call and went back to finish my eyes. I had started on my contour when my phone began to ring again. I looked down at the device and frowned. Damon was now calling me. I ignored his call as well and went back to my makeup. I had just reached for my lipstick when the phone began to chirp again. Stefan's name flashed across the screen and I sighed heavily. I pressed the answer button and put him on speaker.

"What is it?" I snap as the thin line of patience I had was now gone.

"Bella I know you're mad at us but please, we need your help." Stefan pleaded.

"Why should I help those who lie to me, keep me in the dark and genuinely don't care about me unless it suits their own purpose?" I try to say everything nonchalantly but the anger I felt seeped out so I was half growling by the end.

"Bells, I do care about you," Stefan whispered softly.

"No, you don't." I say with a heavy sigh before hanging up the phone.

I put the ringer on silent and after a few minutes, I was finally done with my makeup. As I walk out of the bathroom, I take a look at my phone. 5 phone calls from Stefan, 3 from Damon and 3 from Elena. They all left voicemails as well. I delete the voicemails without listening to them before grabbing my purse, the bag with my dress safely inside, and a pair of Louboutin Pumps. I slip my sandals on with ease and make my way to my car. If I drive fast enough, I can make it to Mystic Falls early enough to grab a room at the local motel and change into the dress.

* * *

Standing in front of the now finished Mikaelson home, I am once again filled with awe at the beautiful craftsmanship. Unlike last time, the house was being filled with party guest in elegant attire rather than construction workers in muddy boots. Cars were parked up the driveway all the way to the front of the mansion. I let out a long sigh before I gracefully made my way up the steps.

Inside, I once again appreciated the work Klaus cultivated. The cathedral ceilings were large and the staircase had to be handcrafted based on the beautiful engravings etched in the woodwork.

"...you know who you're borrowing that cup of sugar from." I heard Damon whisper near me. I looked to my right to find him standing next to Carol Lockwood.

"I'm trying to protect this town. They've assured me they…"

I zoned out of Damon and Carrol's conversation and return to admiring the beautiful home. The large columns were made from marble and the wood at the bottom of each column had a small engraving. One had the Greek letters for Doric, another had Ionic, and the last had the letters for Corinthian. My gaze wandered to the beautiful glass chandelier when I heard a man draw a long breath.

"My gods, you're gorgeous." Klaus' voice was a whisper.

I turned around to greet him formally. "Good evening, Niklaus." I smile warmly at him.

"You certainly do dress to impress, love." He laughed as he leaned forward and place a small kiss on my cheek.

I felt the familiar flush beginning to warm my cheeks. Why is he so enticing? "I love the design by the way," I say as I casually wave my hand around the room. "The stairs were handcrafted weren't they?"

"Ah." Klaus tapped his chin thoughtfully. "They were but how did you notice?"

"I have an eye for woodwork." I sent him a wink and turned back to the party. I was about to ask Klaus a question when Klaus turned to stare at Damon and Carol. I followed his gaze and noticed the pair had been joined by a dark-haired man around the age of 18. He had a strong jawline and a nose similar to Klaus. "A brother of yours?" I guessed.

"Yes, my baby brother: Kol." Klaus' lips twitched slightly as if he was trying to avoid smiling.

Damon struck out his hand and introduced himself only to be rebuffed by the younger Mikaelson.

"Oh. That must be stinging to Damon's ego." I chuckled darkly.

"Probably." Klaus looked down at me with a soft smile. "Would you like a drink?" He offered while pointing towards the bar.

"I would actually."

Klaus offered his arm and I lay a hand on his forearm before he begins guiding us through the room towards the bar. I noticed the large doors opening and Elena walking into the room. Of course, as soon as she enters, the Salvatore Brothers both flock to her sides like ever doting parents. I rolled my eyes and focused on Klaus.

We stopped at the bar and I ordered a Manhattan and Klaus got himself a glass of red wine. He leads me to a small room that sported a beautiful grand piano on one side and rows of books on the other. There were two chairs snuggled up against the window and we each took a seat.

"Thank you again for coming, Ms. Swan." Klaus' smiled as he took a sip of his drink.

"Why did you invite me anyway?" I asked quietly.

"I owe you for looking after Rebekah and for saving her after Elena daggered her," Klaus said matter of factly.

"You never thought to just send me a thank you card?"I chuckled. "Honestly, it's not hard to be a decent person. I genuinely enjoy Rebekah's company too. I am still pissed as hell at Elena and the Salvatores." I found myself half growling at the memory of Rebekah lying on the cold cement ground of Salvatore's basement.

"How am I to make it up to you?" Klaus' asked again and I looked into his light blue eyes. Eyes that looked as if the ocean was crashing into the sand. Eyes that flickered lightly with anger at times but held mirth and happiness. Eyes that I could find myself looking into.

I shook my head and looked out the window. "When will you stop asking me that. I want nothing from you, Klaus." I moved one of the curls from in front of my face and tucked it gently behind my ear.

"I think you do." Klaus smiled coyly at me as he took another sip from his drink.

"What do you think I want?" I feel my eyebrow twitch instinctively up in an arch.

Klaus leaned in close and put his hand on my knee. I looked again into those beautiful eyes. "I think you want me to ki…"

"Uh, If everyone could gather please." A man's voice echoed through the room and I saw Klaus frown slightly.

"Seems the moment is gone." Klaus sighed and offered me his hand. "Would you care to join me for a dance?"

"Welcome, thank you for joining us." The man's voice was echoing from the stairway. "You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance."

I looked back up at Klaus and smiled brightly. "It would be a pleasure to accompany you."

"Well aren't you just Miss Prim and Proper." Damon's voice was filled with disgust and anger. I turned my head slowly to eye him.

"Shouldn't you be more involved in where Miss Gilbert is going than with Miss Swan," Klaus demands and I notice Elena starting to slinking up the stairs.

Damon moves fast to catch up with her, latching onto her forearm in a tight grip before steering her away. Klaus and I look at each other, roll our eyes, and then make our way to the ballroom.

"It's a waltz that we will be performing tonight," Klaus whispers in my ear as we pass by couple after couple until we are standing near his siblings. Rebekah notices me and beams. Her smile fades slightly when she sees I'm accompanying Klaus.

The music begins and Klaus slips his hand around my side before laying it gently on my back. I clasp his hand and we glide across the room. I haven't waltz since the late 60's. I found myself smiling and laughing as he twirled and dipped me. The music ended and the room erupted in a chorus of applause. Klaus and I smiled at each other before another song began to play. The crowd dispersed slightly as the townsfolk headed back to the bar.

"If it isn't obvious, you look stunning." Klaus complimented as we swayed along with the music.

I felt the familiar heat of a blush on my cheeks. "Thank you."

"I am glad that you came," Klaus spoke again and I felt my eyes drift to him. He had his eyes closed and a small smile graced his lips. "You're staring."

"Ah!" I gasped. "I am sorry," I mumbled slightly.

"Will you let me show you something?" Klaus asked as the song came to a close.

I was about to answer when I heard Rebekah call out. "Stop hogging my friend!"

"I'm not hogging her!" Klaus laughed and I looked over at the doors where Rebekah stood with her arms folded across her chest.

"Thank you for the dance, Klaus. Perhaps you can show me whatever it is after I catch up with Rebekah," I suggest before dropping my hand from his arm.

"Sure. Find me when you're ready." Klaus smiles down at me.

I nodded softly before turning and walking towards Rebekah. Once I am close, she pulls me in for a tight hug.

"Ugh! I have missed you!" Rebekah says as we make our way outside onto the patio.

"I have missed you too!" I smile as I look up at the sky. "I'm sorry I haven't messaged you since leaving."

"Bells, its fine. I haven't been awake for more than a few days anyway." Rebekah sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry that El...wait what do you mean you have only been awake for a few days?" I felt my anger beginning to flair.

"Well, Klaus just recently woke me from my last daggering at Elena's han…."

"That inconsiderate mutt, the repulsive flea-ridden, half mongrel piece of…" I found myself expelling the curses at a rapid pace before tapering off. I finished with a large gulp of breath as Rebekah laughed loudly.

"Are you done?" His voice asked and I turned around to see Klaus staring at me with eyes that sparkled with delight and mischief.

"No. You're an asshole." I quip.

"Yes, I am." Klaus chuckles darkly. He strode forward and took a lock of my hair in between his fingers. "But you like that about me despite everything else, love." I felt a shiver of desire rush over me but as quickly as Klaus had arrived, he disappeared.

I stood there for a moment, dumbfounded and slightly flustered at the thought of Klaus handling my hair.

"Well, that was very interesting." Rebekah coughed softly before moving in front of me. "Tell me, Bella."

I looked up to face her, my heart racing and my stomach in knots.

"Have you fallen for the big bad wolf?"


End file.
